Arge pagana (Panzer, 1797)

Arge pagana

One of the two yellow abdomened species that lack a black blotch under the stigma. The pronotum, tegulae and parts of the legs are suffused with black. Wings more or less smoky.
The variation in the degree of dark markings gives two subspecies in Britain. The paler Arge pagana stephensii form has more extensive yellowing on the labrum, middle and hind coxae, femora and tibiae and sometimes upper mesopleural parts, pronotum and mesonotal lobes. Stephensii differs from all known populations of Arge pagana in the Western Palearctic. It cannot be discounted that stephensii may be a different species either endemic to the British Isles or introduced from outside of the Western Palearctic. The darker Arge pagana pagana form has head, thorax and legs entirely black. It is suspected that the two forms maybe separate species but further study is required.

Larvae feed on roses and can be difficult to distinguish from Arge ochropus. In pagana, the hairs on the head are usually pale, the supra-anal black mark is usually entire, and the lateral longitudinal rows of dots are aligned. The scar in the rose stem left by the ovipositing has a double row of cells in pagana and only a single row in ochropus Larvae feed gregariously on the young leaves first leaving only the midribs.

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Status: Locally common

Distribution: England, Wales

Flight period: May to September

Plant associations: Rosa spp. (roses) (1)