On the northern side of Murphy’s Field, Ivy can be seen in flower at eye level. Ivy flowers in the autumn when most other plants have finished. The flowers have greenish petals that bend right back to form a ball, looking like a berry, with five yellow anthers on top. Being one of the few food sources at this time of year the flowers attract many insects. A Hornet was feeding here the other day. Notice how the leaves on the flowering stems are quite unlike the five- pointed leaves on the rest of the plant. I wonder if anyone knows why?
Hornets are frequently seen in and around the woods, usually intent on hunting insects to feed the brood in the nest. However, at the end of the summer, like the ordinary wasps, they turn their interest to sweet things like the nectar of the Ivy flowers.
CB October 2014