Species Details

ABH: 70.162

BF: 1857

Family: Geometridae

Subfamily: Larentiinae

Taxon: Eupithecia tantillaria

Authority: Boisduval, 1840

Vernacular: Dwarf Pug

Account: Common in plantations, gardens and parks throughout the British Isles. Despite the name, a medium-sized pug, with a large, prominent, elongated discal spot, but otherwise rather plainly marked, the most likely confusion species is probably Oak-tree Pug E. dodoneata, which has a number of black dashes along the veins beyond the discal spot, and buff-coloured border alongside the costa and dorsum. Larva feeds on various coniferous trees, including Norway Spruce, Sitka Spruce and Douglas Fir, over-wintering as a pupa.

Accounts provided by and used with the kind permission of Mike Wall, Hampshire County Moth Recorder. These will in due course be gradually replaced with species accounts with a Surrey context.

Wingspan: 16 — 19 mm

Surrey Flight Period: 15 Apr (2009) — 30 Jun (2012)

The flight period of overwintering adults are not given. See the flight chart below the distribution map.

Foodplant: Picea abies (Norway Spruce), Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas Fir).

Foodplant accounts are from the HOSTS database — Natural History Museum, London, UK. (CC0).

Status: Least Concern (LC)

UK BAP:

WCA:

Click here to view the full geology map of Surrey.

Verification Grade: 2 — Care needed to identify 🤔
Further Information: https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/eupithecia-tantillaria/
Statistics

* Based on adult records only.

Records: 227

Individuals: 33

Earliest Year: 1886

Latest Year: 2025

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