Be Nice to Nettles Week

“Delicious nutritious nettles, bring to mind sunny childhood play days, excellent as an additive to compost and essential for some many caterpillars.

Thank you CONE for raising the profile and improving the reputation of this wild plant, and thanks alike to all who grow them in their garden for butterflies.”

Helen Firminger
Project Manager, London Wildlife Trust Centre for Wildlife Gardening

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.