Ivy drumsticks will soon develop into flowers
Each flower has five sepals, no petals and five stamens. In the centre is one of the best of the few nectar sources available to autumn feeding insects. You will see crowds of them buzzing over the ivy flowers.
Gradually the centre darkens and as the petals and stamens fall off we are left with a bunch of black berries - food for birds and small mammals right into spring.
One particular mining bee - the IVY mining bee - is a recent (2021) arrival in Britain and feeds almost exclusively on ivy flowers.
They are quite striking with a furry, orange thorax and a brightly striped abdomen, so quite easy to recognise. I have seen several in Thornbury already this year.
There are several videos on youtube and if you put in 'ivy mining bee' I would recommend 'Bringing nature to you, - the ivy mining be' with Susan Simmonds. She describes clearly their very special behaviours while lying on her lawn surrounded by bees. Or you can just click on this link
If you are as fascinated by insects as I am, there is also a thorough slide show on identifying insects on ivy, including butterflies, hoverflies, other flies, wasps, honey bees and solitary bees, like the IMB, on this link.
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