Golden-rod Pug

Taxobox
name = Golden-rod Pug

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image_width = 240px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Lepidoptera
familia = Geometridae
genus = "Eupithecia"
species = "E. virgaureata"
binomial = "Eupithecia virgaureata"
binomial_authority = Doubleday, 1861The Golden-rod Pug "(Eupithecia virgaureata)" is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East. In the British Isles it is widespread but rather locally distributed.

The forewings are brown, darker along the costa, and are marked with distinctive pale fascia and a whitish tornal spot. Melanic forms are quite frequent. The wingspan is 17-20 mm. Two broods are produced each year with the moths flying in May and June and again in August ref|flight_season.

The larva feeds on the flowers of goldenrod and ragwort. The species overwinters as a pupa.

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

References

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