Eupithecia abbreviata

• Subfamily: Larentiinae, Eupitheciini
• Wingspan: 18-20 mm
• Flight period: Apr - May
• Spread: Common
• Host plants: Fagaceae, Rosaceae

Information

The Eupithecia abbreviata also called Brindled Pug is a moth of the Geometridae family, Larentiinae subfamily, with a wingspan of 18-20 mm.
It is distributed throughout most of Europe, with the exception of Russia, the Baltic States, Finland and Greece. In Italy it is also present in Sicily. *

The background color of the front wings of Eupithecia abbreviata is usually brown with various gray ocher and black streaks, with a small, distinct, elongated central point; black streaks are visible protruding proximal to the pale postmedian line.
The hind wings have a pattern similar to that of the front wings but with a lighter color. Head, thorax are in the background color of the front wings but slightly darker **

It is one of the first spring species, it flies in one generation from March to May. It lives in deciduous forests and is quite common in these environments.

The egg is white, knurled and oblong. The larva is generally brown in color with shaded triangular markings on each segment. Clear intersegmental bands. There is also a faintly marked form of sand color **

The larvae feed on Quercus (oak) and Crataegus (hawthorn).


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/