The colourful Nymphalid butterflies will lay their eggs on the nettle leaves and these will provide food for the caterpillars.
What do nettles attract?
Stinging nettles are great wildlife attractors: caterpillars of the small tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies use them as foodplants; ladybirds feast on the aphids that shelter among them; and seed-eating birds enjoy their autumn spoils.
When should you not pick nettles?
1. Don’t pick Stinging Nettles when in Flower. The flowers on Stinging Nettles are like catkins; little tendrils of flowers dropping down from the stems, they tend to be green or yellowy-green in colour, so not always obvious to spot.
How do stinging nettles reproduce?
Nettles can reproduce themselves from seed and rhizomes that form underground stems that extend out and grow, producing new shoots, enabling the nettle plants to spread.
What plants do butterflies lay their eggs on UK?
The Wildlife Garden contains small meadow areas, ideal habitat for certain British butterfly species providing both nectar plants, such as oxeye daisies and knapweed, and grasses including cock’s-foot and fescues for meadow brown, large, small and Essex skippers to lay their eggs on.
What time of year do butterflies lay eggs on nettles?
The female butterflies lay their eggs in May/June onto nettle plants, where, after a couple of weeks, the caterpillars emerge. They spin a communal web and start feeding on the nettles, leaving the protective web as they grow bigger.
Do nettles serve a purpose?
Because it’s rich in nitrogen, this is particularly useful for leafy vegetables like kale, chard and spinach. You can also cut nettles to lay, as they are, around larger plants or shrubby fruits, where they will serve as a valuable mulch. Their high nitrogen content also makes them a natural compost activator.
What’s the difference between stinging nettle and nettle?
Stinging nettle is the name given to common nettle, garden nettle, and hybrids of these plants. Originally from the colder regions of northern Europe and Asia, this herbaceous shrub grows all over the world today.
Do nettles still sting when cut down?
Once wilted they can no longer sting you. The sting relies on erect hairs to penetrate the skin and inject the stinging formic acid. When wilted strip the leaves off the tough stems. Always cook nettles to destroy the stinging acid.
How do you pick stinging nettles without getting stung?
Nettle-Picking Tips
Use rubber gloves or pinch the leaves hard, so you don’t get stung. Once picked, lay the nettles out on a tray to wilt. Once wilted they can no longer sting you.
Are nettles good for the garden?
In the garden, nettle is indispensable as a fertilizer, insecticide, and compost activator. On the farm, nettle’s uses don’t just end there. The farm animals also benefit from all the goodness of nettle as well.
Is stinging nettle poisonous to touch?
Stinging Nettle, a native plant, is also known to cause skin reactions. This plant is covered in small hairs; and when touched those hairs “sting” with a nasty blend of histamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, and formic acid.
How can you tell if a nettle is male or female?
Both flower sexes are green with yellow stamens, but the male flowers often have a purplish tinge and the female flowers tend to droop much more than the male flowers do..
What butterflies use stinging nettle?
Red Admiral > Stinging Nettle.
Do nettles attract butterflies?
Stinging nettles will attract five colourful species of butterfly but you need to manage the area so they don’t take over the garden. Stinging nettles need nutrient-rich soil and should be cut back in June or July to stimulate new shoots to grow, providing more food for caterpillars.
Which caterpillars feed on nettles?
Cut nettles fairly regularly to promote the fresh green growth required by the caterpillars of small tortoiseshell, red admiral, peacock, painted lady and comma butterflies. Moths rely on nettles for their larvae too. Look out for small magpie, burnished brass, mother-of-pearl and spectacle moths!
What are the black caterpillars on nettles?
It is a larval colony of peacock butterflies. The nettle stand is crazed around by a tangle of cleavers, while above it, standing proud of the canopy like miniature flat-topped acacias, are the white umbels of hogweed.
Do butterflies lay their eggs on nettles?
Many common garden butterflies, such as the Red Admiral, Comma and Small Tortoiseshell, lay eggs on stinging nettles, but other butterflies breed on more garden-worthy plants.
Why do butterflies lay eggs on nettles?
The colourful Nymphalid butterflies will lay their eggs on the nettle leaves and these will provide food for the caterpillars. Look out for eggs laid singly by the Red Admiral and Comma or in batches by the Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.
What to do if a nettle stings you?
Self-care for nettle stings
- Wash the area with soap and water as soon as possible to relieve the sting and remove the nettle hairs.
- Local symptoms of pain and itching can be relieved by applying a moistened cloth and/or ice pack to the area.
Is being stung by nettles good for you?
And while its sting may be uncomfortable, it actually has a beneficial effect on inflammation in the body. By preventing the body from making inflammatory prostaglandins, the sting results in an overall less inflammatory reaction in the body.