night flying shift moths and nettle

26 of our larger Irish moths rely on nettles for breeding. Night flying moths pollinate our flowers, control plant growth, feed our birds, bats, hedgehogs, and frogs. Their pollen transport networks are far wider and more complex than those of our daytime pollinators. Moths are a vital part of our ecosystem. 

I love nettles, to help this plant-pollinator relationship, we're cultivating a large area of nettle here in the garden for many years now. This nettle patch is a haven for the Peacock  butterflies year in year out. The female starts to lay eggs in May, but over the past few years with warmer, drier Springs I have noticed the egges and larval catterpillars appearing later in summer. The females are very particular about the plant and location. She chooses the tip of a healthy stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) in full sunshine, and will deposit large clusters of 300-400 eggs on the underside of the young leaves.

Last year the nettle patch was alive with micro moths and some larger ones including several beautiful smaller magpies. One of them to the left in my sketch. I hope the nettle patch with is thriving right now in May will help our pollinators throughout the summer season.