[massa]

hi, i went to the plot yesterday to find i had a mass of hundreds of tiny black caterpillars in a ball swarming over some nettles and they semt to be spinning a web. ive been back today and the entire plant is covered in the web and they have moved onto the next one there not anywhere near any of my produce but i dont want them to spread too much. i think they are Ermine moth caterpillars from the pics ive seen on the web. should i get rid of them and how?

[SarahB]

From what I can find out, they have a wide range of food plants but they all seem to be wild - nettles, docks etc. - so there should be enough for them to eat where they are.  If they've sufficient food, they shouldn't ramble onto your plot!  I've got a soft spot for ermine moths anyway, they're such beautiful things - have a look here (about a quarter way down the page): ermine moths