Is Ivy (Hedera helix) the single most important plant for wildlife? It must be a contender. For one thing it is one of the most widespread of wild plants. A thicket of Ivy provides shelter for hibernating insects in winter and nesting birds and small mammals in spring, protection all year round in fact for a host of living things. Food too in the form of berries for birds.

 And crucially Ivy is the last big hit of pollen and nectar as autumn draws in. It attracts a panoply of pollinators: bees, butterflies. hoverflies, wasps etc. For that reason I never cut Ivy back till late in the year after flowering has finished. As late as November I have seen Ivy buzzing with honey bees if the weather is still mild and sunny. 

 

 

 I'm pretty sure this is an Ivy Bee, a species which came to these shores as recently as 2001. We are used to hearing about declining bee populations but this is one that's thriving and expanding. Colletes hederae emerges late in the year when Ivy comes into flower. Perhaps that is why this newcomer has been so successful? Many traditional habitats for pollinators have been lost but there is no shortage of Ivy.

 

Postscript Just read that Ivy in flower attracts in the region of 140 different insects.