It is rather local, but occurs in most of the southern counties of England, from Kent to Devonshire, and westward from Somerset to Hereford and South Wales; also recorded from North Lancashire. Rare in Scotland, and only noted from Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. Reported from a few localities on the coast in Ireland.
Currant Pug (Eupithecia assimilata).
This species (Plate [95], Fig. 9) is similar in marking to that next mentioned, but the wings are shorter and rounder; the fore wings are a trifle redder in tint, and the white mark at the termination of the submarginal line is usually more conspicuous.
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| 2 Pl. 96. |
| 1. | Ochreous Pug. | 2. | Pinion-spotted Pug. | 3, 4. | Edinburgh Pug. |
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| 5-8. | Satyr Pug. | 9. | White-spotted Pug, var. angelicata. |
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| 2 Pl. 97. |
| 1. | White-spotted Pug. | 2, 5. | Bordered Pug. | 3. | Larch Pug. |
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| 4, 7. | Common Pug. | 6. | Grey Pug. | 8, 11. | Tawny Speckled Pug. |
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| 9. | Plain Pug. | 10. | Golden-rod Pug. | 12. | Scarce Pug. |
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| 13. | Triple-spotted Pug. | 14. | Shaded Pug. |
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The rather slender caterpillar, figured on Plate [92], Fig. 6, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich, is yellowish green, inclining to yellow between the rings; three darker green lines on the back, the central one most distinct, the others rather broad and not well defined; sometimes the central line is tinged with brown, as also is the front edge of each ring. It feeds on currant and hop, and is said to eat the leaves of gooseberry also. The first brood is in June and July, and the second in the autumn. The moth is out in May and June and in August. It frequents gardens, and hides among the foliage, or occasionally sits on walls or palings; from hedges where the wild hop grows freely it may be beaten out in the daytime, but it flies in the twilight, sometimes in numbers, around the hop bines.
Widely distributed over England, Wales, and Scotland up to Ross; in Ireland it has been noted from Tyrone, Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Sligo.