Bracken - Animal Species That Use Bracken

Animal Species That Use Bracken

Brackens of the northern hemisphere are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Dark Green Fritillary, Dot Moth, High Brown Fritillary, Gold Swift, Map-winged Swift, Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Orange Swift, Small Angle Shades, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. They also form an important ecological partnership with plants such as violet and cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense) for various Boloria Fritillary species.

It is also a favoured haunt of the sheep tick Ixodes ricinus which can carry lyme disease.

Between 27 to 40 invertebrates (including nine moths) in the UK feed on bracken. These include the sawfly, a planthopper (Dytroptis pteridis), the map-winged swift moth caterpillar, brown silver-line moth caterpillar (Petrophora chlorosata) and Paltodora cytisella. The numbers feeding on the bracken increase as the season progresses due to the decreasing levels of toxin, and the production of nectaries in the spring, food for ants which in turn may kill any herbivorous insects in the vicinity.

Some birds such as the whinchat and the nightjar use bracken as their preferred habitats. The nightjar may lay its eggs on the bare ground under the bracken. The skylark often nests in bracken and uses it for cover. Other birds known to nest in or beneath bracken include the willow warbler (it will also use bracken to construct its nest), the tree pipit, the yellowhammer, the ring ouzel, the woodcock and the twite.

The European adder can be found basking on bracken, the colour of their skin concealing them.