Liquorice Piercer (Grapholita pallifrontana)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - moth > Moth |
| Red List Status: | (Not Relevant) [(not listed)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Grapholita pallifrontana |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Zeller, 1845 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | (No GB Red List for micro-moths.) Suffered historical declines and now has a fragmented distribution in southern England; dependent on a single host plant which is declining. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Dependent on a single, declining host plant (Wild Liquorice) which requires appropriate habitat management to maintain populations and restoration of . |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Greater grassland structural diversity should benefit the host plant and therefore the moth. Remains sufficiently widespread that it may colonise newly-created suitable habitat. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 6. Recovery solutions trialled |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Trial establishment of the host plant Wild Liquorice at new/extinct sites close to existing sites for the moth; to include trials with and without initial ground preparation and from both seeds and plug plants.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: Monitor results of existing trial ongoing at a site in Hertfordshire.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Maintain up to date status information through adult surveys at all known sites every 3-5 years; also survey additional sites with Wild Liquorice in order to determine current distribution.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Manage known sites appropriately. This will be achieved by providing advice and feedback to land managers following status surveys.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.