Ivy

Bill Meek looks at one of winter’s most important plants for wildlife.

Our common ivy occurs in two very different forms. The first, with the familiar three-pointed leaves, can thrive in deep shade, producing ground cover in woodlands, or climbing trees, fences and buildings. But eventually the leading shoots will reach the light, then the second, mature reproductive form may start to be produced. This form has quite different, dense, shiny oval leaves and bears the plant’s flowers and fruit.

There are a number of unique characteristics which make ivy so valuable. Firstly, it is the only evergreen climber among our native flora, and affords excellent year-round shelter for all kinds of wild creatures. Several species of bird will nest in ivy, especially if it is thick.

Ivy is essential for the summer generation of the Holly Blue Butterfly, whose caterpillars feed on the unripe flower buds into the early autumn, before descending the plant to pupate. Hibernating Brimstone butterflies are beautifully camouflaged among the leaves in winter.

Also, by producing flowers in autumn and berries in winter and spring, ivy provides food significantly later than most other woody plants. Because of this, it fills something of a ‘hungry gap’ for both insects and birds.

Insect life
A glance at the flowers of ivy on a sunny autumn day will reveal a wealth of insect life. The butterflies of autumn may frequently be seen at ivy flowers – Red Admiral is the classic, but Comma, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell may also visit. Worker wasps are usually present, and worker bumblebees may also be seen.

These workers are soon to die off, leaving just the overwintering queens, for which ivy is an essential source of late-season fuel. Some of the hoverflies seen at ivy will be black and yellow wasp mimics, among them no doubt Myathropa and Helophilus, which are both beautifully marked and completely harmless.

Honeybees are often present at ivy flowers, as are their hoverfly mimics from the genus Eristalis. The larvae of these mostly brown flies are the ‘rat-tailed maggots’ of smelly puddles and other wet, decomposing matter.

Some people believe that ivy harms its host tree. In fact it is not a parasite in any way, being rooted in the ground like any other plant, and using the tree only for support. To say it does no harm is probably an overstatement – a tree completely laden with ivy is more susceptible to being thrown by the wind, and if a tree is already in poor health it may be further compromised by competition for resources, both above and below ground, from its accompanying ivy.

When specimen trees in very public places are becoming swamped, removal might be advised on grounds of aesthetics or even safety, as ivy can cover weaknesses and decay in the branches. But in all other situations please leave it in place – the wildlife value far outweighs other considerations.

Even aesthetically, a dressing of ivy can impart a dark, gothic charm to otherwise bare winter hedgerows and woodland edges, which we should certainly miss.

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