Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Geometers (Geometridae) - part 8: Pugs III and Seraphims etc. (Eupithecia III to Trichopteryx)

GEOMETERS (GEOMETRIDAE) (continued)


Common Pug Eupithecia vulgata - Totals of 146 in my garden between 15th May and 4th July 2019 and 119 between 26th April and 29th June 2020.  146 is my highest total so far (average is 114).  Elsewhere 15 at the meadows and also recorded at Bintree Wood, Sculthorpe Moor, Hills and Holes, Weybourne, Keswick (Cumbria) and on Mull.  I'm always a bit paranoid about overlooking one of the scarce or rare pugs so tend to check more than I probably really need to, but this approach has got me a few interesting records in the past that I would have overlooked (including one or two of my Satyr Pugs for example).  Worn ones can be particularly confusing and it's not all that unusual for me to get mixed up between even familiar species like Grey Pug.  I've picked fresher examples to show below so these are among the more straightforward ones that I checked, although the third one had me quite puzzled, not that there were any clear candidates for an alternative ID.

male Common Pug, Sculthorpe Moor, 26th April 2019

male Common Pug, North Elmham, 29th May 2019

male Common Pug, North Elmham, 30th May 2019

male and female Common Pugs, North Elmham, 3rd June 2019

female Common Pug, North Elmham, 19th June 2019

male Common Pug, North Elmham, 20th June 2019

male Common Pug, North Elmham, 23rd May 2020

Mottled Pug Eupithecia exiguata - A total of 11 here 19th May and 2nd June 2019 making it just about my worse year here (average about 16) followed by an on-par 16 between 8th May and 1st June 2020.  Elsewhere one at the meadows and 2 at Hills and Holes.

Mottled Pug, North Elmham, 19th May 2019

Mottled Pug, North Elmham, 8th May 2020

Yarrow Pug Eupithecia millefoliata - One in the garden on 23rd July 2019 was a new moth for the garden and only my second adult anywhere.

female Yarrow Pug, North Elmham, 23rd July 2019

Tawny Speckled Pug Eupithecia icterata - Totals of 7 caught in the garden between 25th July and 25th August 2019 and 14 between 8th and 19th August 2020, either side of the average of around 10-11 per year.  Elsewhere one next door and one at Swanton Great Wood on 27th August 2019.


Bordered Pug Eupithecia succenturiata - 4 in the garden between 5th July and 8th August 2019 and 5 between 24th July and 11th August 2020 (the last being my latest ever).  5 was my best annual total but this species is quite erratic with 3-4 in 2016, 2018 and 2019 and none at all in 2015 or 2017.  Elsewhere one at the meadows on 7th July 2019 and one next door on 8th August 2019.

Bordered Pug, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 7th July 2019

Bordered Pug, North Elmham, 8th July 2019

Shaded Pug Eupithecia subumbrata - None.  This is quite scarce in Norfolk away from the Brecks and the coast but I caught one here in my garden in 2016 and 2 together in 2017.


Grey Pug Eupithecia subfuscata - Totals of 12 trapped here between 2nd June and 12th July 2019 and 10 between 21st May and 1st July, which are very average numbers.  Elsewhere 3 at the meadows, one at Hellesdon, one at Hills and Holes (on 21st May 2020, my earliest ever) and 5 on Mull.

male Grey Pug, North Elmham, 3rd June 2019

male Grey Pug, North Elmham, 7th June 2019

female Grey Pug, North Elmham, 10th June 2019

male Grey Pug, North Elmham, 11th June 2020

Treble-bar Aplocera plagiata - An average year in 2019 with 10 trapped here between 2nd June and 30th August then an exceptional 37 between 18th May and 26th August 2020 (my previous best annual total was 15).  Elsewhere one at Row Heath (West Runton) on 31st August 2019 and one at the meadows on 8th September 2020. 

Treble-bar, North Elmham, 18th May 2020

female Treble-bar, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 8th September 2020

Lesser Treble-bar Aplocera efformata - None.  I carefully check each and every Treble-bar I find for Lesser Treble-bar but so far have found absolutely no evidence that they exist.


Streak Chesias legatella - Singles caught in the garden on 17th October 2019, 17th October 2020 and  8th November 2020.  These were my 3rd to 5th records here following singles in November 2014 and November 2015.

Streak, North Elmham, 17th October 2019

Streak, North Elmham, 17th October 2020

Streak, North Elmham, 8th November 2020

Broom-tip Chesias rufata - None.  I've only seen this species in the Brecks which is where the vast majority of recent Norfolk records have been, but there are a couple of recent records from elsewhere in the county and a good spread of older records, and there are some good patches of Broom locally so I'm optimistic that it might be lurking round here somewhere.


Grey Carpet Lithostege griseata - None.  Like Broom-tip, Grey Carpet is mainly found in the Brecks and that's the only place I've seen it.  However unlike Broom-tip, there have been quite a few records of Grey Carpets in mid Norfolk (e.g. Dave Norgate had one in Toftwood in 2018 and David Knight has had one just down the road from here in Worthing) so I reckon I've got more than half a chance of getting one locally sometime.


Seraphim Lobophora halterata - I think this was one of the 2-3 commonest moths that I'd not seen until 2019 but that year it finally gave itself up with one to MV light at the meadows on 25th May, swiftly followed by another to LEDs at a different part of the meadows on 31st May.  Further afield one at Hills and Holes on 21st May 2020.

Seraphim, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 25th May 2019

Seraphim, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 31st May 2019

Seraphim, Hills and Holes, 21st May 2020

Small Seraphim Lobophora halterata - Singles trapped in the garden on 11th July 2019 and 24th June 2020.  I've now caught 5 here, until the last one all in odd years.

Small Seraphim, North Elmham, 11th July 2019

Small Seraphim, North Elmham, 24th June 2020

Yellow-barred Brindle Acasis viretata - Just one caught in the garden in 2019, on 8th August.  Numbers of this species fluctuate greatly but this was exceptionally bad - 5 was my previous worst year and in 2016 I caught 38.  2020 was only a bit better with 7 between 5th and 21st August.  Elsewhere one at the meadows on 4th August 2019.

Yellow-barred Brindle, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 4th August 2019

Early Tooth-striped Trichopteryx carpinata - None in 2019 but I added this species to my garden list in 2020 catching one on 22nd April and then a different one on 24th April.  There was only one previous record in this 10km square but having caught one at my last house in Bawdeswell and also one at Bawdeswell Heath, I knew they weren't very far away.

Early Tooth-striped, North Elmham, 22nd April 2020

Early Tooth-striped, North Elmham, 24th April 2020

Orange Underwing Archiearis parthenias - None.  I haven't found this species in North Elmham yet but I've had it not very far away in Bintree Wood (and at Sparham Pools).  I generally don't find many day-flying moths in my garden (although maybe there's a chance as there's a Birch in my front garden and another in the neighbour's garden behind mine) and I don't have much chance at the meadows either as the meadows are quite Birch-depleted.


Next page: more Geometridae

Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Geometers (Geometridae) - part 7: Pugs II (Eupithecia II)

GEOMETERS (GEOMETRIDAE) (continued)


Brindled Pug Eupithecia abbreviata - Totals of 9 between 30th March and 26th May 2019 (the last being my latest ever) and 13 between 9th April and 8th May 2020.  This compares with an average here of 12-13 a year.  Elsewhere 4 at the meadows, one at Sculthorpe Moor, one at Cranwich Heath and 4 in the Lake District (Keswick and Borrowdale).

Brindled Pug, North Elmham, 30th March 2019

male Brindled Pug, North Elmham, 26th May 2019

Brindled Pug, Cranwich Heath, 14th March 2020

Oak-tree Pug Eupithecia dodoneata - One in the garden trap on 16th May 2019.  None in 2020.  I've had a blank year here before (2018) but apart from these and 5 in 2017, it's been one a year every other year.

male Oak-tree Pug, North Elmham, 16th May 2019

Juniper Pug Eupithecia pusillata - None.  I've only ever had one here, in 2015 (and before that 2 at my last house in Bawdeswell in 2012).


Cypress Pug Eupithecia phoeniceata - None.  One in my garden in 2016 was only the 5th county record but this species is increasing so there must be a fair chance of catching another.  However the neighbour's big leylandii hedge that was there in 2016 has now been chopped down (no bad thing) so that will reduce my chances of a repeat any time soon.


White-spotted Pug Eupithecia tripunctaria - One in the garden trap on 7th August 2019.  This was my fourth record here with singles in 2015, 2016 and 2017.  This one was very worn and needed an intimate examination to ensure the ID was correct (in fact I don't think I even suspected it before I'd caught sight of her bits).  None in 2020.

female White-spotted Pug, North Elmham, 7th August 2019

Golden-rod Pug Eupithecia virgaureata - My first example of this moth was trapped at our holiday accommodation in Carsaig on Mull on 13th June 2019.  It was too worn to positively ID without dissection although I thought it was going to turn out to be something interesting.  This species does occur in Norfolk but is pretty rare except at one or two sites in the north west of the county.

female Golden-rod Pug, Carsaig (Mull), 13th June 2019

Dwarf Pug Eupithecia tantillaria - I'd seen 7 Dwarf Pugs at 4 locations between 2012 and 2014 but hadn't seen any more anywhere since moving here in 2014, so it was a nice surprise to find one in my garden trap on 21st May 2020.  I still have no idea what possessed someone to call this relatively large pug a Dwarf Pug.

male Dwarf Pug, North Elmham, 21st May 2020

Larch Pug Eupithecia lariciata - One at Ceann Chnocain on Mull on 13th June was my first ever (and was another worn pug that required gen detting to resolve).  Although scarce in Norfolk there are a few records quite close to me so hopefully I'll get one here sometime.  I'm not sure that there are any larches in the immediate vicinity though, so that won't help me get one in my garden.

female Larch Pug, Ceann Chnocain (Mull), 13th June 2019

Plain Pug Eupithecia simpliciata - 2019 and 2020 were quite good years for this species and I took the opportunity to record my first ever, trapped in my garden on 24th July 2019, swiftly followed by one at the meadows two nights later (which I actually identified before the one in my garden), and then another in my garden on 4th August 2020.  These are the first records for my 10km square - it's normally quite a scarce moth although there are widespread records across the county.  Of all the pugs that could be called plain, this is quite low down on the list - bit like the Dwarf Pug that isn't dwarf.

Plain Pug, North Elmham, 24th July 2019

Plain Pug, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 26th July 2019

Plain Pug, North Elmham, 4th August 2020

Narrow-winged Pug Eupithecia nanata - None.  I've had singles here in 2015, 2016 and 2017 but not since.  It's common enough on heaths but seems relatively hard to find in other habitats.


Angle-barred Pug Eupithecia innotata - I've never found this species in Norfolk but I caught my first one overnight on 13th June 2019 while staying at Carsaig on Mull.  With plenty of its foodplants growing at the meadows and a scattering of records in mid Norfolk I hope to find this species locally before too long.

female Angle-barred Pug, Carsaig (Mull), 13th June 2019

Ochreous Pug Eupithecia indigata - Singles caught at home on 16th May 2019 and 21st May 2020, the first times I've caught this species here.  Also one at the meadows on 25th May 2019 and singles at Frost's Common and Hills and Holes on 21st May 2020.

Ochreous Pug, North Elmham, 16th May 2019

Ochreous Pug, North Elmham, 21st May 2020

Thyme Pug Eupithecia distinctaria - The first of 4 pug lifers I caught on Mull, and at least in the sense that this isn't a Norfolk species, the best of the 4.  I caught this one at the place we were staying at Carsaig on 10th June 2019.

female Thyme Pug, Carsaig (Mull), 10th June 2019

Lime-speck Pug Eupithecia centaureata - In 2019 singles recorded in the garden on 28th and 29th May and then on 4 dates between 4th and 27th August.  I average over 11 a year here so 6 wasn't a great showing but 2020 made up for it with one on 17th June and 20 between 4th and 27th August.  These included 5 on 8th August and 3 counts of 3 - I'd not had more than 2 in a night here before.  Elsewhere 3 at the meadows on 25th May 2019, one there on 3rd September 2019, and singles at Hellesdon, Hills and Holes and Brancaster.

Lime-speck Pug, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 25th May 2019

Pinion-spotted Pug Eupithecia insigniata - None.  I've never seen this species and although there are a few records away from the main parts of its Norfolk range (Brecks and NW Norfolk) there aren't any from round here so perhaps not very likely to turn up here.


Triple-spotted Pug Eupithecia trisignaria - None.  I caught a couple here in 2016 but none in other years.


Freyer's Pug Eupithecia intricata - Singles in the garden here on 24th and 29th June 2019 and 4 between 8th and 26th June 2020.  This species isn't quite annual here but about 2 a year is average.  This is one of a handful of moths that I used to record far more frequently at my old house in Bawdeswell, although looking at NorfolkMoths it looks like my time here coincided with a couple of exceptionally good years for the species generally.

Freyer's Pug, North Elmham, 6th June 2020

Satyr Pug Eupithecia satyrata - None in the garden which was a bit disappointing after catching 4 of these over the previous 3 years.  Elsewhere I tentatively identified a caterpillar on Fleabane at Foxley Wood as this species, but reading the new caterpillars book now I'm not sure if this is a safe ID (comments welcome!).

possible Satyr Pug caterpillar, Foxley Wood, 17th August 2019

Wormwood Pug Eupithecia absinthiata - One caught in the garden on 19th July 2019 and 3 between 8th and 29th July 2020.  I had been averaging 7 a year so these were poor years.  I find this species much harder than some people seem to think it is to separate from some Currant Pugs as size overlaps and none of the supposed differences in pattern (e.g. prominence of dark spots or band at base of abdomen) seem to be reliable.  Wing shape seems can be the best feature to use but this can be confusing and I've had lots that have looked one way at first and the other way on second look.  On occasion I find really clear examples and sometimes I make do with measuring their wing length but more often I resort to checking genitalia (as I did with all 4 of these).

male Wormwood Pug, North Elmham, 19th July 2019

female Wormwood Pug, North Elmham, 8th July 2020

female Wormwood Pug, North Elmham, 24th July 2020

female Wormwood Pug, North Elmham, 29th July 2020

Valerian Pug Eupithecia valerianata - None.  I've never caught this species here and there aren't any records for my 10km square but although it's not common, there are widespread enough records to make me think I could get it here sometime.


Currant Pug Eupithecia assimilata - 5 caught in my garden between 16th July and 26th August 2019 and 7 between 8th May and 22nd August 2020.  These were poor years - I've averaged 15 a year here.  Elsewhere one on Mull on 13th June 2019.  I record a slightly higher proportion of these without gen det compared to Wormwood Pug but I check a few every year.

male Currant Pug, North Elmham, 26th August 2019

male Currant Pug, North Elmham, 8th May 2020

male Currant Pug, North Elmham, 10th August 2020

male Currant Pug, North Elmham, 12th August 2020

male Currant Pug, North Elmham, 16th August 2020

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