August 6 2019
Stinging nettles support more than 40 kinds of insects,
for whom the sting can form a protective shield
against grazing animals.
Many nettle patches hold overwintering insects
which swarm around fresh spring nettles
and provide early food for ladybirds.
These same aphids are eaten by blue tits
and other woodland birds that dart around the stems.
In late summer the huge quantity of seeds produced
are food for many seed-eating birds,
such as house sparrows, chaffinches, and bullfinches.
Nettles are also a magnet for other insect-eaters
like hedgehogs, shrews, frogs and toads,
at all times of year.
Certain moths like nettles, as do many of the UK’s most colourful and best known butterflies,
such as the Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock Butterflies.
Their larvae feed in large groups in silken tents
at the top of the nettle stems....