• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

channel island pollinator project logo

Wild insect pollinator conservation

  • Pollinators & Pollination
    • What are Pollinators?
    • Why Care About Pollinators?
    • Meet the Pollinators
    • Threats to Pollinators
  • How to Help
    • Flower to the People
    • Plants for Pollinators
    • Green Roofs
    • Map Your Pollinator Friendly Area
    • Pollinator Friendly Areas Map
    • Bee Hotels
    • Bug Hotels
    • Pollinator Monitoring
  • Latest News
  • Contact
  • About
  • Resources
    • Downloads
    • Useful Links
    • Recommended Books About Pollinators
    • Recommended Wildlife Gardening Books
  • Pollinators & Pollination
    • What are Pollinators?
    • Why Care About Pollinators?
    • Meet the Pollinators
    • Threats to Pollinators
  • How to Help
    • Flower to the People
    • Plants for Pollinators
    • Green Roofs
    • Map Your Pollinator Friendly Area
    • Pollinator Friendly Areas Map
    • Bee Hotels
    • Bug Hotels
    • Pollinator Monitoring
  • Latest News
  • Contact
  • About
  • Resources
    • Downloads
    • Useful Links
    • Recommended Books About Pollinators
    • Recommended Wildlife Gardening Books
wildflower meadow at The Elms, St Mary, Jersey

Plant of the month – Hawthorn

25/05/2018 //  by Barry Wells

A familiar site this month is the “Mayflower” or Hawthorn. The name haw, originally an Old English term for hedge, applies to the fruit. Common hawthorn can support more than 300 insects and is the foodplant for the caterpillars of many moths and other insects.

The flowers, which are prolific this month, are highly scented, white or occasionally pink with five petals, and grow in flat-topped clusters. These provide nectar and pollen for bees, hoverflies and other pollinating insects. The fruits, once pollinated by insects, develop into deep red fruits known as ‘haws’. These are eaten by many migrating birds such as redwings, fieldfares and thrushes, as well as small mammals.

Hawthorns create natural and almost perfectly impenetrable barriers – and this dense, thorny foliage also makes fantastic nesting shelter for many species of bird.

Planting a hawthorn hedge in a garden is hugely beneficial for wildlife. Alternatively they can be planted as strong specimen trees that will grow 10 metres tall if left unpruned.

 

 

 

More content from this category:
Wild About Pollinators event

Wild About Pollinators Event

bugs matter splatometer

Insect decline seen in UK ‘bug splat’ data

wildflower meadow at The Elms, St Mary, Jersey

Reversing the Decline of Insects

Peacock butterfly

Virtual Talks, Lessons & Workshops

Bumblebee Bombus terrestris terrestris

Bumblebees Force Plants to Flower Early by Damaging Their Leaves

Red-tailed bumblebee

Jersey Biodiversity Centre Pollinator Report for 2019

a bee hotel made from drainpipe filled with tubes made from cardboard and bamboo

How to Build a 5-Star Bee n’ Bee for Solitary Bees

Peacock butterfly

Insect A&E

Ivy Bee Colletes hederae Jon Rault

New Study Sheds Light on UK’s Overlooked Bee Species

Flowering Plants for Pollinators in Winter

Great Pollinator Reads in 2019

dead bumblebee

Insect Declines and Why They Matter

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us On Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Latest from the Blog

Wild About Pollinators event

Wild About Pollinators Event

08/06/2022

bugs matter splatometer

Insect decline seen in UK ‘bug splat’ data

05/05/2022

wildflower meadow at The Elms, St Mary, Jersey

Reversing the Decline of Insects

09/07/2020

Peacock butterfly

Virtual Talks, Lessons & Workshops

18/06/2020

Bumblebee Bombus terrestris terrestris

Bumblebees Force Plants to Flower Early by Damaging Their Leaves

21/05/2020

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Website Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy

Copyright © 2023