Latest news with #PortlandBill
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Country Diary: A specialist insect on a specialist plant
I've returned to the limestone grassland slopes above Portland Bill to settle a score with bastard-toadflax (Thesium humifusum). Earlier in the week, my eyes more accustomed to scanning vast seascapes for guillemots, razorbills and gannets, I hunted for this semi-parasitic plant among the vetches, bird's-foot trefoil, yellow wort and eyebright. But though I was in an area where it's known to grow, bastard-toadflax refused to be found. My error – it turns out – was one of magnitude. So today my approach is lower and slower. Nose down, bottom up. From this undignified position, it takes only a few minutes to locate the inconspicuous straggler. It's smaller than I'd imagined. A low-growing perennial with trailing stems and narrow leaves, it scatters white starbursts left and right as it weaves through the vegetation. Through my hand lens, I can see that the 3mm-wide star-flowers enclose five stamens with creamy anthers and a white stigma floating in a green pool – actually a short tube from which the petal-like sepals arise. Bastard-toadflax's uncharitable common name is a nod to its supposed similarity to toadflax, though it's far more closely related to mistletoe, another hemiparasite. But its disparaging title doesn't bother the insects that feed on this rare plant. Glistening green swollen-thighed beetles sup from the flowers, while underneath the sprawling foliage, tiny black and red blobs trundle back and forth. Though no bigger than the flowers, under the hand lens the blobs transform into domed bugs with black bands on their blood-red bodies. These are young down shieldbugs (Canthophorus impressus). The adults are dark metallic blue and only half the size of the more common green shieldbug. I glimpse one before it slips beneath the leaves. They are outnumbered by nymphs, though, which go through five instars or juvenile stages, and by late summer will have matured into the next generation of adults. These monophagous shieldbugs (feeding only on one type of plant) rely on bastard-toadflax, itself mostly restricted to downland in southern England. A specialist insect dependent on a specialist plant. So it's a privilege to watch this ground-hugging bug and to think that, from a down shieldbug's point of view, this prostrate plant is an entire world. Nic's new book, Land Beneath the Waves, is out on 12 June Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at and get a 15% discount
The Guardian
26-02-2025
- The Guardian
A moment of reflection and Himalayan adventures – readers' best photos
'On 24 December 2024, the moon was at its farthest point from Earth – 252,700 miles away. This photo was taken an hour before sunrise, with the waning crescent moon perfectly placed above Dubai's tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa. The scene was a magical mix of the city's modern marvels and the beauty of the night sky.' Photograph: Prashant Naik 'A geometrical eye twister and a candid street photo.' Photograph: André Skibstad 'On the train from Amsterdam-Zuid.' Photograph: Anandi Sarita Namasivayam 'These fake dolphins in St Augustine look like they're jumping over the fisherman on a bright, sunny day.' Photograph: Travis Antolik 'A sea otter in Monterey Bay munching on a fresh clam.' Photograph: Alan Lipton 'Early morning at the Sierra de Andújar national park, hoping to find Iberian lynx. Something moved in the bushes next to us: a male red deer climbing up a small hill. It stood there for a while, staring at us. We found no lynx, but I will never forget this encounter.' Photograph: Belén Quintana 'A busker was making bubbles for children and I managed to capture this image before the bubble exploded on me, covering me in soap and water. Many around were quite humoured by this.' Photograph: Rider Dyce 'Hurrying past puddles on the way to work, you can sometimes find beauty reflected in the gutter.' Photograph: Isabelle Desgranges 'A chance moment glancing down the Joice Street alley. I was taken by the giant Lee's menacing gesture in direction of the tiny woman and her calm repose. I did not know at the time that Lee was born in the city.' Photograph: Carol Wickersham 'Embrace the serenity of nature at Tsho Rolpa, where majestic peaks touch the sky and the spirit of adventure thrives in every step.' Photograph: Ambish Kaji Shakya 'In the cafe of National Trust's Trelissick Garden. While working in the sunshine, I was joined by a handsome and cheeky scone thief.' Photograph: Sacha Clements-Barnes 'A woodland dor beetle weathering the rain in the Trossachs National Park.' Photograph: James Feehan 'A big blow at Portland Bill.' Photograph: Mark Williams 'Skyscrapers can be seen from Manggarai Station. On weekdays, this station is one of the busiest commuter line train stations in the city.' Photograph: Firman Firdaus 'Walking from St Pauli to Borgweg, I came across this reimagined petrol station in the twilight. Gluhwein would follow.' Photograph: Richard Duffy-Howard
