Juniper pug

{{short description|Species of moth}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Juniper pug

| image = Eupithecia pusillata.jpg

| image2 = Eupithecia pusillata2.jpg

| genus = Eupithecia

| species = pusillata

| authority = (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775){{cite web |last=Yu |first=Dicky Sick Ki |url=http://www.taxapad.com/local.php?taxonidLC=82839827 |title=Eupithecia pusillata (Denis & Schiffermuller 1775) |website=Home of Ichneumonoidea |publisher=Taxapad |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325024803/http://www.taxapad.com/local.php?taxonidLC=82839827 |archive-date=25 March 2016}}

| synonyms =

• Geometra pusillata Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775
• Eupithecia quebecata Taylor, 1910
• Eupithecia anglicata Herrich-Schäffer, 1863
• Eupithecia expressaria Herrich-Schäffer, 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{{aut|Mironov, V. G.; Galsworthy, A. C. & Ratzel, U.}} (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.

}}

The juniper pug or juniper looper (Eupithecia pusillata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found throughout the Palearctic (Ireland to the Russian Far East)[https://insecta.pro/taxonomy/14931 Insecta pro] and in the Nearctic.

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

The forewings are greyish brown often with two distinctive black cross bands. The wingspan is {{convert|17–21|mm|abbr=on}}. It is relatively contrastingly coloured, with marked, light and dark cross-bands and short black longitudinal lines. It often lacks a black spot in the middle of the wing (discal spot). It is extremely variable but generally easy to recognize by the acutely angulated antemedian line, the whitish patch between discal dot and the postmedian and dark dashes proximally to the postmedian — graeseriata Ratzer (= latoniata Mill.) is larger and greyer is in general more weakly marked but very variable (Swiss Alps). — anglicata H-Sch. from the chalk cliffs of Kent, is a whitish grey form of rather characteristic appearance. — scoriata Stgr. from Iceland, is a dark, weakly-marked form.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 ] {{PD-notice}}Vladimir Mironov: The Geometrid Moths of the World. In: Axel Hausmann (Hrsg.): The Geometrid Moths of Europe. 1. Auflage. Volume 4: Larentiinae II. Perizomini and Eupitheciini. Apollo Books, Stenstrup 2003, {{ISBN|87-88757-40-4}} 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}}

Wikisource:The Moths of the British Isles Second Series/Chapter 9#230

[[Image:Buckler W The larvæ of the British butterflies and moths PlateCXXXI.jpg|thumb|

140px|left|3,3a larvae after final moult]]

The larva has a number of short brushes and numerous small white warts. The body is green, along the back it has either a simple, dark back strip or a variety of bell-shaped, dark brown spots.

The adults fly at night from July to September,{{ref|flight_season}} and are attracted to light.

In the Old World, the larva feeds on Juniperus (juniper) and 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.