View source for Lime-speck pug

{{short description|Species of moth}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Eupithecia centaureata01.jpg
| genus = Eupithecia
| species = centaureata
| authority = ([[Michael Denis|Denis]] & [[Ignaz Schiffermüller|Schiffermüller]], 1775)<ref>{{cite web |last=Yu |first=Dicky Sick Ki |url=http://www.taxapad.com/local.php?taxonidLC=82853689 |title=''Eupithecia centaureata'' (Denis & Schiffermuller 1775) |website=Home of Ichneumonoidea |publisher=Taxapad |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325053825/http://www.taxapad.com/local.php?taxonidLC=82853689 |archive-date=25 March 2016}}</ref>
| synonyms = {{Specieslist
 |Geometra centaureata|Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775
 |Phaleana signata|Scopoli, 1763
 |Geometra oblonga|Thunberg, 1784
 |Eupithecia oblongata|
 |Phaleana boloniensis|Fourcroy, 1785
 |Eupithecia oblongata'' var. ''centralisata|Staudinger, 1892
 |Eupithecia oblongata'' f. ''obscura|Dietze, 1910
 |Eupithecia centaureata dsharkendi|Vojnits, 1977
 |Eupithecia chinae|Vojnits, 1977
 |Eupithecia dagestani|Vojnits, 1977
 }}
}}

The '''lime-speck pug''' ('''''Eupithecia centaureata''''') is a [[moth]] of the family [[Geometer moth|Geometridae]]. It is a common species throughout the [[Palearctic]] region (where it is found in Europe, Central Asia, [[Mongolia]], southern [[Siberia]], eastern [[China]] (Guangdong) and [[Taiwan]]<ref>{{aut|Mironov, V.G. & A.C. Galsworthy}}, 2007: The genus ''Eupithecia'' (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) in Taiwan: an updated survey. ''Trans. lepid. Soc. Japan''. '''58 (3)''': 341–363.</ref>), the [[Near East]] and North Africa.

==Description==
This is a distinctive species, all the wings being largely white except for a black blotch on the [[Costa (entomology)|costa]] of the forewing. The [[wingspan]] is 20–24&nbsp;mm. In the ab. ''obscura'' Dietze.(perhaps developed chiefly in Asia but also recorded from the Tyrol) the ground-colour of both wings has a smoky suffusion. In the ab. ''centralisata'' Stgr., chiefly from Palestine and Central Asia, the markings are weaker, sometimes (except the discal mark) almost entirely obsolete.<ref>Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) ''The Macrolepidoptera of the World''. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart.[https://archive.org/details/macrolepidoptera1216seit pdf *]{{PD-notice}}</ref>  The larva is long and thin, white-yellow with a red dorsal stripe and horseshoe-shaped red spots running down the sides.<ref>Vladimir Mironov, Axel Hausmann, David Wilson ''The Geometrid Moths of Europe'', Volume 4 Larentinae II (Perizomini and Eupitheciini)  E J Brill</ref><ref> Riley, A.M. and Prior, G. ''British and Irish Pug Moths A Guide to their Identification and Biology'' Apollo Books {{ISBN|978-0-946589-51-7}}</ref>


Often two broods are produced each year and the adults can be seen at any time during the summer and autumn. The moths fly at night and are attracted to light and [[nectar]]-rich flowers.

The [[larva]] is rather variable but is usually green or yellow, often with red markings. It feeds on the flowers of a variety of plants (see list below). The species overwinters as a [[pupa]].
[[File:Eupithecia centaureata larva.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Larva]]

===Larval food plants===
{{div col|colwidth=13em}}
*''[[Achillea]]'' – yarrow
*''[[Angelica]]''
*''[[Arctium]]'' – burdock
*''[[Artemisia (plant)|Artemisia]]''
*''[[Calluna]]'' – heather
*''[[Campanula]]''
*''[[Centaurea]]''
*''[[Cirsium]]'' – thistle
*''[[Crambe]]''
*''[[Filipendula]]'' – meadowsweet
*''[[Galium]]'' – bedstraw
*''[[Hieracium]]'' – hawkweed
*''[[Lotus (genus)|Lotus]]'' – bird's-foot trefoil
*''[[Lysimachia]]'' – yellow loosestrife
*''[[Matricaria]]'' – mayweed
*''[[Medicago]]'' – alfalfa
*''[[Pimpinella]]'' – burnet saxifrage
*''[[Rumex]]'' – sorrel
*''[[Selinum]]'' – milk-parsley
*''[[Silene]]'' – bladder campion
*''[[Solidago]]'' – goldenrod
*''[[Tanacetum]]'' – tansy
*''[[Trifolium]]'' – [[red clover]]
*''[[Vicia]]'' – [[tufted vetch]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* 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)

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Eupithecia centaureata}}
* {{Wikispecies inline|Eupithecia centaureata}}
* [http://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Eupithecia_Centaureata Lepiforum.de]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q116755}}

[[Category:Eupithecia]]
[[Category:Moths described in 1775]]
[[Category:Moths of Africa]]
[[Category:Moths of Asia]]
[[Category:Moths of Europe]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Michael Denis]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller]]


{{Eupithecia-stub}}