Quercus

Stinging Nettle

Urtica dioica

Not native to Kentucky

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

30CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including KY

Genus host records with ranges including KY · Urtica

  • Polygonia interrogationisQuestion Mark
  • Vanessa atalantaRed Admiral
  • Abrostola ovalisWhite-Shouldered Nettle Moth
  • Abrostola urentisNettle Looper, Spectacled Nettle Moth, Variegated Brindle
  • Acronicta impressaImpressive Dagger, Printed Dagger
  • Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
  • Agonopterix pulvipennellaGoldenrod Leaffolder, Featherduster Agonopterix
  • Allagrapha aereaUnspotted Looper Moth
  • Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
  • Dysstroma truncataMarbled Carpet
Show all 30
  • Euplexia benesimilisAmerican Angle Shades
  • Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
  • Heterophleps refusariaThree-Patch Bigwing
  • Heterophleps triguttariaThree-Spotted Fillip
  • Hypena edictalisLarge Bomolocha, Large Snout
  • Hypena humuliHop Snout Moth, Hop Vine Snout, Hop Looper
  • Hypena sordidulaSordid Bomolocha, Sordid Snout
  • Iridopsis humariaSmall Purplish Gray
  • Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
  • Melanchra assimilisBlack Arches
  • Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
  • Orthotaenia undulanaDusky Leafroller
  • Pandemis lamprosanaWoodgrain Leafroller
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
  • Polygonia commaEastern Comma
  • Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
  • Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
  • Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
  • Zanclognatha cruralisEarly Zanclognatha, Early Fan-Foot
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Urticaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–10b
Flower color
Green or white

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

European Stinging Nettle; Great Nettle

Conservation status

Kentucky rankNot available
Global rankG5
KY statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources