Description: Wingspan 21-25 mm. Forewings pale to darkish grey with dark broad crosslines. There is a large black discal spot near the median area of the forewing close to the costa and a fine broken black line along the outer margin of the forewing. Hindwings paler with a small discal spot. End of May to late July. Skinner gives June and July as the normal flight period in Britain.

World Distribution: Throughout central and southern Europe, east to the Urals. It has also been found in North America.

Irish Distribution: This species was widely recorded in the early part of the nineteenth century and described by Donovan (1936) as widespread among spruce. It then seemed to undergo a dramatic decline both here and in Britain, with no reports in N. Ireland for many years. In 1999 a single specimen was taken at Bohill near Ballynahinch, Down which was initially thought to be a Grey Birch ~6043#Aethalura punctulata~. This misidentification was subsequently corrected by a leading British expert. Since then several other specimens have been taken in the same locality during 2000.

Ecology: A large distinctive pug mainly associated spruce plantations. All of the records to date have been of adults beaten from the foliage of various trees within a small area. The larvae feed inside on cones of Norway Spruce Picea abies, Noble Fir Abies procera and Silver Fir ~f39454A. alba~ during August and September. It overwinters as a pupa.

Key Identification Features:

• Large size
• Black discal spot and broken line on forewing

Distribution Map from NBN: Eupithecia abietaria at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Eupithecia abietaria at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.