This is Part 1 of “Wonder Weeds – Dandelions and Deadnettles.”
(Part 2: Red Deadnettles.)

The Beginnings of Spring

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As I write this February is typically in the midst of its mercurial mood swings. One moment balmy sunshine is pushing the temperature into double figures, bringing queen bumblebees and wasps out of hibernation, and the next moment it is dark skies, sleet and hail. Add to that high winds and squally showers and you know that we are still in the depths of winter. And yet my local cemetery is full of swathes of crocus flowers and the first daffodils have lifted their silent yellow trumpets to announce that spring is just around the corner.

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Crocuses, Primroses and Lesser Celandines

The mass plantings of introduced crocuses in the cemetery are a magnet for hoverflies, honeybees and the first bumblebees of the year and I eagerly seek them out on mild sunny days to record my first species for the year. But in the wider countryside it is our native wild flowers that provide the nectar and pollen to sustain the first hardy insects that are on the wing. A few Primroses have bloomed throughout the mild winter and the first of Wordsworth’s beloved Lesser Celandines will be opening their starry flowers to track the sun any time it puts in an appearance. 

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Dandelion: The Real Star of Spring

But for me, and many of our insects, the real star of spring is the humble Dandelion. They are generally at their peak in March and April but a few will flower in February and even in January. The Dandelion isn’t one single species but a complex of over 200 microspecies that differ slightly in subtle ways one another. It is a member of the Asteraceae which used to be known as the Compositae from the composite nature of the flowers. Each flowerhead is actually a mass of individual flowers or florets. What appear to be many petals are in fact ray florets each with their own stigma and therefore pollen source, making the Dandelion such a good source of food for insects.

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Dandelions’ bold, big bright yellow flowerheads provide copious amounts of pollen and nectar, the vital food to fuel insects as they emerge from winter hibernation. Bumblebees and various solitary bees are frequently found delving into the packed inflorescences, supping nectar as well as collecting pollen to take back to their nests. Unfortunately, too many gardeners see the Dandelion as a pernicious weed and set about trying to eradicate them, either by digging them up or, far worse, using weedkillers. Personally, I like to see a lawn sprinkled with Dandelions and Daisies and have no problem with them sneaking into the flower borders or secreting themselves into the cracks in the driveway. They are lovely in roadside verges but too often they are mown and their beauty as well as their food value is lost.

Bees and Dandelions

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I have recorded more than twenty different species of bee on Dandelions, many of them in my back garden. They are one of the most important sources of food for insects early in the year and a single flower can attract several bees at once. Amongst the solitary bees, there are a number of species that are classed as cleptoparasites. Instead of creating their own nests and stocking them with food, their seek out the nests of other bees and lay their eggs in their nest cells. When the larva hatches, it eats the food (pollen and/or nectar), depriving the host larva of sustenance and thereby killing it. (Sometimes the host larva is actually killed rather than just starved to death). Some of our solitary bees are very rare and that makes their cleptoparasites even rarer still, so although these cleptoparasites may seem to have unsavoury habits they are fascinating creatures and I always delight in finding them in the garden for it shows that there is a healthy host population around to support them.

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Butterflies and Dandelions

Several of our butterflies overwinter as adults and when they emerge on the first warm days of spring it is vital that they find a source of nectar to fuel up on. Small Tortoiseshells were always to be found on early Dandelion flowers and I would often see several flitting from flower to flower on the first warm days of spring as they emerged from hibernation. Sadly their numbers have dwindled considerably in recent years, possibly due to changes in climate that have led to milder winters, and I rarely see large numbers of them in spring anymore. Peacock butterflies and Brimstones also hibernate as adults and they too will sup nectar from Dandelions on warm spring days, refuelling after their winter of dormancy.

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Hoverflies and Dandelions

Other insects that benefit from Dandelions are flies, especially hoverflies. Many flies are active over the winter and can be important pollinators of early flowering plants, including fruit trees like pears and plums and they rely on flowers like Dandelions to keep them going until other flowers are out. Hoverflies in particular are well known as good pollinators and many species spend a lot of their time visiting flowers. As several hibernate as adults, they too can be reliant on the humble Dandelion as an early source of food.

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Other Invertebrates and Dandelions

Other invertebrates can be found on Dandelions too. The Sixteen-spot Ladybird is unusual in that it feeds on pollen, nectar and fungi rather than aphids or scale insects like many other ladybirds. It is a grassland specialist so it is not surprising that I have occasionally found them on Dandelions in the Norfolk Brecks. Where there are pollinating insects visiting flowers you will also find their predators. Crab spiders spend their time sitting about on or in flowers or lurking underneath the petals waiting for some unsuspecting insect to land so that they can grab them for lunch.

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Marking Time

‘Marking Time’ a linocut print I created for the exhibition ‘Melt’ at the Greenhouse Gallery in Norwich in 2014, which asked artists from Norfolk and Suffolk to explore issues relating to global warming. The winning entries, of which this was one, were published as greetings cards by Green Pebble.

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I was (and still am) concerned about the impact of climate change on our native insects. The Small Tortoiseshell was once very abundant and probably the commonest spring butterfly in Norfolk but its numbers have declined severely in line with much milder winters.

The caption for the picture reads:

Marking Time.

Small Tortoiseshell spirals in decline,
Seeking nectar in a changing world.
Marking the Time of our inaction
Towards uncertain futures.

A once common butterfly is now seldom seen in any great numbers while the ubiquitous weed (the Dandelion) that succours it is the target of eradication attempts by people who prefer their lawns devoid of life.