Wow! Amazing mugo. Walter, do you remember if any branches were lost after the needle pulling?
I am far from that stage, mind you, but it seems a bit extreme (just 4? Pairs of needles) on the small branch on the right hand side.
This kind of needle plucking is necessary during the development. Somtimes a branch dies because of this, indeed. This is why during development I work with many more branches than I will need for the final image.