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.
Do nettles sting butterflies?
While a ready supply of nectar-rich wildflowers is important, equally so is the availability of suitable caterpillar food plants. Without these, the next generation of insects could not happen. Some of our common garden butterflies are reliant on stinging nettles for their caterpillars to feed on.
What lives on nettles?
A number of butterflies such as the red admiral, comma, peacock and small tortoiseshell also rely on nettles as a food source for their larvae and you can often see them munching away on the nettle stems.
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 nettles be cut down?
The best time to cut nettles for a liquid plant fertiliser is early spring, as this is when the nitrogen content is at its highest. To ensure that the butterfly larvae are not disturbed it is best to cut in March and again (if you want to) in October.
What insect lays eggs on nettles?
Butterflies
Butterflies and moths generally lay their eggs in the centre of a nettle patch so the outer plants will be fine for us to eat. Nettles are incredibly rich in iron, folates and other minerals as well as tasting great when made into a soup.
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.
Are nettles and Stinging Nettles the same?
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.
Why are nettles good for the garden?
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.
Do bees like Stinging Nettles?
This weed is particularly useful to them as that pollen may be in short supply if there are few flowering trees in your area. It’s certainly one of the few herbaceaous plants flowering vigorously and attracting bees at this time.
What butterfly eats nettles?
The Peacock is one of our most recognisable butterflies with red wings and bright eyespots to scare off predators. Its caterpillar is another that loves to feed on nettles.
What plants do butterflies lay eggs in?
Selecting Plants for Butterfly Eggs
- Monarch – Milkweed.
- Black Swallowtail – Carrots, Rue, Parsley, Dill, Fennel.
- Tiger Swallowtail – Wild Cherry, Birch, Ash, Poplar, Apple Trees, Tulip Trees, Sycamore.
- Pipevine Swallowtail – Dutchman’s Pipe.
- Great Spangled Fritillary – Violet.
- Buckeye – Snapdragon.
What butterflies use stinging nettle?
Red Admiral > Stinging Nettle.
How do you permanently get rid of nettles?
Weedkiller control
- Neglected areas can be cleared of established nettles by spraying them with a glyphosate-based weedkiller (such as Roundup Ultra or Doff Weedout Extra Tough Weedkiller) which should be applied as a spray in June, shortly before they flower.
- A second application may be necessary in September.
How deep do nettle roots go?
Again, stinging nettle control is difficult, as these underground horizontal root stems can spread 5 feet (1.5 m.) or more in a season, continually re-growing from the rhizomes, even when broken apart. So, you may wonder how to kill stinging nettle plants then?
Is there a weedkiller just for nettles?
For areas that are too heavily overgrown with stinging nettles to be tackled by hand, spray with a systemic weedkiller containing glyphosate, such as Roundup Ultra. Glyphosate is a non-selective systemic weedkiller that will kill any plant it touches, so protect nearby plants with plastic sheeting before spraying.
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 are the black caterpillars on stinging 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.
Why do caterpillars not get stung by nettles?
The stings or ‘trichomes’ of the nettle appear to have evolved to deter mammalian herbivores because small invertebrate grazers can avoid them. The stings are one of two types of trichome (‘hair’) covering the nettle plant.
Why are nettles important for butterflies?
This makes the ideal habitat for insects, with little danger of the larvae or adult insects being eaten. This time of year you may have noticed butterflies using the plant as a host species for it’s larva and caterpillars, butterfly larvae feed in large groups in silken tents at the top of the nettle stems.
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!