Juniper pug

Eupithecia pusillata juniper pug
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Eupithecia
Species:	E. pusillata
Binomial name
Eupithecia pusillata (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)[1]
Synonyms
Geometra pusillata Denis & Schiffermuller, 1775 Eupithecia quebecata Taylor, 1910 Eupithecia anglicata Herrich-Schaffer, 1863 Eupithecia expressaria Herrich-Schaffer, 1848 Eupithecia latoniata Milliere, 1882 Eupithecia scotica Dietze, 1910 Eupithecia sobrinaria Boisduval, 1840 Geometra sobrinata Hubner, 1817 Eupithecia stevensata Webb, 1896 Eupithecia masuii Inoue, 1980[2]

The juniper pug or juniper looper (Eupithecia pusillata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout the Palearctic and Nearctic regions and the Near East.

Subspecies interruptofasciata is sometimes treated as a valid species Eupithecia interruptofasciata.

The forewings are greyish brown with two distinctive black bands. The wingspan is 17–21 mm. The adults fly at night from July to September and are attracted to light.

In the Old World the larva feeds on juniperus (juniper) and also on some other conifers in the cypress family such as Chamaecyparis and Thuja. In the New World there is a greater range of recorded food plants including apple, clover, raspberry, redcurrant, strawberry, sunflower and willow as well as juniper. The species overwinters as an egg.

1. ^ The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.

Subspecies

• Eupithecia pusillata pusillata
• Eupithecia pusillata interruptofasciata Packard, 1873 (eastern United States and Canada)
• Eupithecia pusillata kashmirica Mironov & Ratzel, 2008 (Pakistan)
• Eupithecia pusillata scoriata Staudinger, 1857

References

1. Taxapad
2. Mironov, V.G. ,A.C. Galsworthy & U. Ratzel, 2008, A survey of the Eupithecia fauna (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) of the Western Himalayas: Part 2, Transactions of the Lepidopterological Society of Japan 59 (2): 117-143.

• Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
• Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 1984