''Eupithecia pimpinellata'', the pimpinel pug, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

of the family

Geometridae The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''metr ...

. The species was first described by

Jacob Hübner Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the author of ''Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge'' (1796–1805), a founding work of entomology. Scientific career Hübner was the author of '' ...

in 1813. It is known from most of Europe to Morocco (

High Atlas High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas ( ar, الأطلس الكبير, Al-Aṭlas al-Kabīr; french: Haut Atlas; shi, ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⴷⵔⵏ ''Adrar n Dern''), is a mountain range in central Morocco, North Africa, the highest part of t ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part o ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

Altai Altai or Altay may refer to: Places *Altai Mountains, in Central and East Asia, a region shared by China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia In China * Altay Prefecture (阿勒泰地区), Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China * Altay City (阿� ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...

.It primarily colonizes bushy places, forest edges, clearings, hedges, mountain slopes, embankments, railway dams and parks as well as semi-dry grasslands. In the Alps it rises to heights of 1800 metres. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...

is 20–24 mm. ''Eupithecia pimpinellata'' has elongated wings. The forewing ground colour is ash-grey suffused rufous. The discal spot is large and elongated. Several crosslines, the median with a row of dark spots.Prout gives an account of the variations.Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) ''The Macrolepidoptera of the World''. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgar

There are forms of the long and slender larva which is either greenish with yellow segment incisions or are almost monochrome red.The brownish pupa has green or yellow wing sheaths. On the dark brown cremaster there are eight hook bristles, the middle pair of which is strongly formed. There is one generation per year with adults on wing from the end of June to August. The larvae mainly feed on ''

Pimpinella saxifraga ''Pimpinella saxifraga'', known as burnet-saxifrage, solidstem burnet saxifrage, lesser burnet is a plant species in the family Apiaceae, a native of the British Isles and temperate Europe and Western Asia. It is neither a burnet, which its l ...

'' and ''

Pimpinella major ''Pimpinella major'', common name greater burnet-saxifrage or hollowstem burnet saxifrage, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the genus '' Pimpinella'' belonging to the carrot family ( Apiaceae). Description ''Pimpinella major'' reaches on aver ...

'', but also other

Apiaceae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus '' Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plant ...

species. They feed on the flowers and seeds of their host plant. Larvae can be found from July to October. It overwinters as a pupa.

Subspecies

*''Eupithecia pimpinellata pimpinellata'' *''Eupithecia pimpinellata retheli'' Prout, 1938 *''Eupithecia pimpinellata altaicata'' Guenée,

858 __NOTOC__ Year 858 ( DCCCLVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – King Louis the German, summoned by the disaffected Frankish ...

/small> Altai *''Eupithecia pimpinellata vellicata'' Dietze, 1908 China

Similar species

*''

Eupithecia distinctaria ''Eupithecia distinctaria'', the thyme pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout Europe. It is also found in Iran. from the Iberian Peninsula through western and central Europe including the British Isles as well as fur ...

'' lacks the brown saddle on the second abdominal segment. *''

Eupithecia pauxillaria ''Eupithecia pauxillaria'', the parsimonious pug, is a moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in most of Europe, except Ireland, Great Britain, Portugal and northern Europe and the central part of the Balkan Peninsula The ...

'' is a paler grey ''E. pimpinellata''.

References

External links

*
''Lepiforum e.V.''
Moths described in 1813 pimpinellata Moths of Europe Moths of Africa Moths of Asia Taxa named by Jacob Hübner {{Eupithecia-stub