Check your local mistletoe

A family visit to Magor Marsh on 12 May allowed inspection of the abundant mistletoes on a dying poplar near the entrance to the reserve. I was hoping to spot leaf mines of the rare Celypha woodiana, without much optimism, but amazingly within a minute I'd seen a mine. I couldn't believe my luck. This is the first confirmed VC35 and Wales record, though there is an old record labelled 'Tintern' without any details attached to it - this may have been in Gwent, or possibly in Gloucestershire.

A follow up visit two days later (with binoculars) failed to reveal any more mines despite a thorough search, and I also got permission to look in a nearby small orchard - again no mines were found. The mines of this species are known to occur at a low density even at good sites, so it would be easy to miss them.

May to early June is the best time for finding these mines - apparently the affected leaves drop off the plants later in June. If you know of any accessible mistletoes in your area it will be well worth a search.