Yorkshire Status: Scarce and local resident.

What on earth is going on with Juniper Pug? The Field Guide tells us that it occurs in gardens and parks on cultivated juniper. Looking back to Porritt's time, in 1883 he said "probably not really indigenous to the county" and suggests that a record in York was from introduced nursery stock. Over the years, we received many records from gardens and there is no doubt that it occurred on introduced ornamental junipers. In the 1990s we had masses of records, and these continued well into the early 2000s. Now records have tailed off considerably and records from gardens have reached such a low ebb that we are really sceptical about anyone claiming it, and really need to see a photo. The situation however on native juniper is quite different. Most recent records have come from stands of proper juniper, and although records are few, at times it can be quite common, for example an astonishing 110 on 19/7/2021 at Moughton near Ingleborough. It is likely to have been present as a native species all the time, but why on earth do we not record it any more on garden cultivars. I can't see these observations replicated anywhere else which is rather odd. The Atlas tells us that "the abundance trend shows a severe long-term decrease"

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: The majority of these records probably originate from larvae on introduced bushes which may now be established. However we do also have records from indigenous Yorkshire plants where the moth may well have been an unnoticed resident for many years.

Recorded in 69 (35%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1880. Last Recorded in 2023. Additional Stats

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