The nettle is the main food plant of peacock caterpillars and therefore attracts females looking for suitable sites to lay their eggs. All of which is a good reason for us to cherish our nettle ...
A large and furry, white or greyish-white moth, with a scattering of neat black spots on the body and base of the forewings. The outer half of each forewing is covered by steeply undulating lines, ...
They go through various stages until they burrow into grass and soil and come out 10 to 20 days later as adults, typically an inch in length with a drop-shaped mark in the middle of the forewing.
The challenge was to find a solitary butterfly, catching the sun with its wings not fully closed and no wind. The small heath butterfly closes its wings as soon as it settles, hiding the ‘eye’ and ...