Double-striped Pug

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Double-striped Pug

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Gymnoscelis
Species: G. rufifasciata
Binomial name
Gymnoscelis rufifasciata
Haworth, 1809

The Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a widespread and common species, being found throughout the Palearctic region, the Near East and North Africa.

This is a variable species but always easy to recognize due to the two prominent dark fascia across each forewing which give the species its common name. The hindwings are pale grey with darker fringes and a small black discal spot. The wingspan is 15-19 mm. Two, sometimes three, broods are produced each year and the adults are on the wing in April and May (sometimes earlier), July and August, and sometimes later in the autumn [1]. It flies at night and is attracted to light and flowers, both of its food plants and others.

The larva feeds on the flowers of a huge range of plants (see list below) and has also been known to feed on the larvae of other Lepidoptera. The species overwinters as a pupa.

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

[edit] Recorded food plants

[edit] 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
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