‘Nettles are the food plant for the caterpillars of red admiral, small tortoiseshell, painted lady and comma butterflies. ‘It’s important to treat your nettles like any other garden plant if you are growing for the benefit of butterflies.
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 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.
What are nettles good for in the garden?
Nettle plants are a primary food source for caterpillars/butterflies and bees which are great pollinators in the garden. Ladybugs use nettle plants as a prime destination to lay their eggs and their larvae eat aphids, white fly and spider mites in the garden.
Do nettles have a purpose?
Stinging nettle has been used for hundreds of years to treat painful muscles and joints, eczema, arthritis, gout, and anemia. Today, many people use it to treat urinary problems during the early stages of an enlarged prostate (called benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH).
What butterflies feed on nettles?
‘Nettles are the food plant for the caterpillars of red admiral, small tortoiseshell, painted lady and comma butterflies. ‘It’s important to treat your nettles like any other garden plant if you are growing for the benefit of butterflies. Cut them regularly to get good fresh growth from the nettles.
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.
Do butterflies lay 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 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.
Do bees like nettles?
Bees like blue, purple, violet and white flowers best, grown in large clumps in a sunny, sheltered spot. They do not like double headed varieties whose nectar and pollen has often been bred out. Wild flowers like dandelions, clover, dead-nettles and alkanet provide welcome food for our urban neighbours.
Should you remove nettles?
You can dig up the plants at any time of the year. However, it is important that you prevent the stinging nettles, especially those that are annual, seeding by cutting down the plants in mid-summer or even earlier.
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.
Should I put nettles in my compost?
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. In other words, by adding them to your compost heap you’ll speed up the decomposition process.
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.
Why you should embrace stinging nettles?
Obviously stinging hurts, but the scientists found that people suffering from arthritic discomfort in their thumb or index finger were more likely to report relief from their aches after nettle stings, compared with a group of people who applied a similar-looking leaf with no sting.
Can dogs have nettle leaf?
Nettles make a superb natural supplement for dogs in need of vitamins and trace minerals in their diets, but do not need to be taking huge multi-vitamin supplements. They are an excellent addition to your dog’s well-balanced diet.
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.
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.
Are nettles good for pollinators?
Dead nettles – distinguishable from stinging nettles by their white, red or yellow flowers – are also useful plants for pollinating insects. When allowed to, they thrive on roadside verges. As they have a long flowering season – from March to October, or even later – they offer a source of nectar for much of the year.
Do caterpillars get stung by nettles?
Being unaffected by their sting, nettles are a good choice for caterpillars, as they offer protection from predators and from falling victim to collateral damage from herbivores, both of which are usually keen to avoid the sting.
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.