Also called red dead-nettle and purple archangel.
Along with white dead-nettle (see the May 8th 2026 post), you can still see this blooming hereabouts, providing food for some of the remaining pollinators like bumblebees and solitary bees. Though the tubular shape of the flowers means that only species with long tongues can reach the nectar, including one specialist hoverfly family.
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| Heineken hoverfly spring 2025 on honesty |
Even this late in the year you might see a Heineken hoverfly with its long snout ‘reaching the parts other hoverflies cannot reach’.
The leaves are hairy, but will not sting (as it’s part of the sage family, unlike nettle) and provide food for various insect larvae such as the brilliantly coloured dead-nettle beetle and the large twin-spot carpet and white ermine moths.
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