Be Nice to Nettles Week

“Stingers are a vital part of growing up, giving us one of the most painful early memories of close contact with nature.

It is much later in life that most of us realise just how valuable they are, especially for some of our most beautiful wild creatures.

Without stinging nettles, peacock, small tortoiseshell and red admiral butterflies would have nowhere to lay their eggs, so do please find a space for nettles somewhere in your neighbourhood.”

Professor Chris Baines
Environmentalist and Broadcaster

Moths of the nettle patch

Although sometimes not as showy as their cousins, the butterflies, moths are often just as beautiful and often more fascinating. In general moths are more cosmopolitan in their choice of larval foodplant, the caterpillars of some moth species will eat a wide range of foodplants and are said to be omniphagous.

Let's take a look at those moths you may come across in your local nettle patch

	Burnished Brass - Diachrysia chrysitis [more] Distinctive metallic patches are a key identification feature of this moth.
	The Spectacle - Abrostola triplasia [more] Is it a moth or a broken twig?
	Beautiful Golden Y - Autographa pulchrina [more] Found throughout the British Isles in June and July.