Nursery nurtures butterflies

Its National Insect Week and our Tree Nursery at St Asaph is doing its bit inside and outside to help nature’s smaller residents.

The tree nursery grows thousands of wildflowers each year alongside thousands of trees. Our wildflowers are to help bring back meadow habitats that pollinators such as bees need to thrive and survive.

But outside in the nursery grounds, the habit areas watched over by Denbighshire County Council’s Biodiversity Team, a butterfly population is also thriving.

A population of Peacock Butter caterpillars are currently enjoying the nettles nesting in the foliage around the site.

Female Peacocks will lay their eggs in clusters on the leaves of Common Nettle which is the foodplant of their caterpillars.

The caterpillars hatch between May and June and as they grow they move onto new plants. They end up sporting a black speckled look with white spots. When ready to pupate each caterpillar will find a suitable area to form a chrysalis.

Orange-red marked Peacocks with black and blue spots will emerge between June and August.

Liam Blazey, Senior Biodiversity Officer said: “Its great to see that as well as the work we do inside the nursery, the habitats we keep an eye on around this site are really giving help to the smaller wildlife we have here in Denbighshire."

He added: “As well as the Peacocks, we also have a number of dragonfly species thriving in the pond habitats we created next to the nursery tunnels and its fantastic to see this site during National Insect Week really moving forward to protect our littlest nature residents.”