An eight-year study found that the most popular flower among pollinating insects is Common Ivy.
The climbing vine’s abundant late-summer and autumn blooms, typically rich in pollen and nectar, received the highest average number of insect visits out of 14 common and widespread flowers surveyed during ten-minute citizen-science counts across the UK.
Ivy was followed by Hogweed, Bramble, Buddleja, Knapweeds and Thistle in overall insect popularity.
The survey also found that Buddleja attracts four times as many butterflies and moths as other high-scoring flowers.
The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) has revealed these floral facts, asking citizen scientists to record insect visits to flowers since 2017. The scheme recommends 14 target flowers to monitor (including Ivy), but counts can be carried out on any patch of flowers in gardens or the countryside.
The scheme is run by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) with support from Butterfly Conservation and other partners.
Butterfly Conservation Butterfly Monitoring Officer Jo Milborrow said: “These results are fantastic because they provide valuable information about pollinators’ favourite flowers, helping people all over the country take action at home to support butterflies, moths and other insects.
“We already recommend Ivy as a great plant to grow because it is an important resource for breeding Holly Blue butterflies and nectaring Commas and Red Admirals, so the fact that this easy-to-grow native species is also the number one plant for pollinating insect visits is a fantastic discovery – we would recommend people to start growing Ivy today!”
The latest annual report from PoMS revealed that hoverflies declined by around a third in both their abundance and number of species recorded across GB in all three surveys conducted over the past eight years. The total numbers of all insects, and of bumblebees, also declined in two of the three PoMS surveys, signalling possible risks to the health of our ecosystems.
In contrast, the abundance and number of species of solitary bees increased in one survey but did not change in the other two. Honeybees, other (non-hoverfly) flies and beetles all increased in the survey covering mostly gardens, suggesting that these could be providing an important refuge for some of our pollinators.
PoMS volunteer coordinator Martin Harvey at UKCEH said, “PoMS is grateful to everyone who has participated in our surveys, allowing us to gather evidence on changes in pollinating insect populations. Participants often say how much they have enjoyed spending time counting pollinators on FIT Counts, and it is always fascinating to observe the close association between insects and flowers. Counts can be contributed between 1 April and 30 September each year – see the PoMS website to find out more about getting involved for 2027.”
These figures support Butterfly Conservation’s research which shows that 80% of butterflies in the UK have declined in abundance or distribution since the 1970s.
The charity encourages people to grow plants for pollinators, however the popularity of Buddleja, known as ‘the butterfly bush’, is more complicated because it is a non-native species that can be invasive.
Butterfly Conservation advises anyone growing Buddleja at home to deadhead it (chop off the flower heads) as soon as it has finished flowering: this stops it from self-seeding.
The charity also encourages people to grow caterpillar foodplants, which are essential for butterflies and moths to complete their life cycle, such as bird’s-foot trefoil, garlic mustard and nasturtiums.
Jo Milborrow added: “Sadly, these figures from the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme add yet more evidence of worrying declines among our insects, which isn’t a huge surprise given what we know about our native butterflies and moths. However growing flowers for pollinators like Ivy, and caterpillar foodplants such as nasturtiums, are simple and really effective actions we can take to make a tangible difference.”
To find out more about PoMS and how to get involved, go to ukpoms.org.uk.
Main photo credit: Painted Lady on ivy © Pete Hughes