• Question: why was stinging nettles made?

    Asked by minecraftman123 to Rosie on 11 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Rosie Coates

      Rosie Coates answered on 11 Mar 2014:

      Well @minecraftman123, I think we could all be forgiven for thinking that nettles were just made to spoil our fun! What’s worse than loosing a ball in a patch of nettles and having to brave their sting to get it back?!

      However it’s this sting that makes them so important! Because of this sting grazing animals like cows and horses don’t like to eat them. This is great for lots of species of insects like tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies who can lay their eggs in a patch of nettles and know they’re safe from being eaten by a cow. This is great for us because it means that in the end there are more lovely butterflies for us to enjoy.

      Nettles are also important for ladybirds as their main food source, aphids, survive the winter by hiding in nettle patches. This means that there is plenty of food for the ladybirds come the spring time.

      So next time you come across a horrid patch of stinging nettles spare a thought for the insects that rely on them and maybe don’t be so hard on them…

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