BUG IN LOVE WITH MISTLETOE

National Trust

A small, sap-sucking bug, new to Britain, has been discovered on mistletoe in the National Trust's gardens at Barrington Court and Tintinhull in Somerset.

Previously known only in Germany and France, this little black insect, Hypseloecus visci, was one of three species of insects new to Britain that were discovered in National Trust gardens this year.

This raises the number of British insects which are dependent on mistletoe to six, one moth, one weevil and four bugs. However, don't expect to see your mistletoe crawling with activity when you pucker up for a kiss this Christmas, these tiny and unremarkable inhabitants of the insect world are very easily overlooked. While five of them feed on or in the leaves and stems, the other is thought to be a predator on one of the others. They must share strong digestive systems, given that mistletoe is quite toxic.

The mistletoe bug is the latest discovery in a survey the National Trust has been conducting in its gardens this year. Matthew Oates, the Trust's nature conservation adviser overseeing the project said, "Most of the gardens surveyed turned up as many rare insects as the average small nature reserve - some were even better! This is clear evidence that a wealth of weird, wonderful and new wildlife lurks undiscovered in our gardens."

There are 1500 mistletoe species worldwide and most only grow in the tropics. Britain on the northern edge of this plant’s range is home to just one species. Apple trees are mistletoe's main host and it prefers cultivated varieties. Not unsurprisingly then, the major concentrations of mistletoe in Britain are centred on the three key fruit producing counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, with large numbers in Somerset where the bug was identified.

Click here for a complete list of books about insects