It's easy to see where the compass jellyfish got its name – its brown markings look just like a compass! They may look beautiful – but they give a nasty sting so keep your distance.

The metallic-green musk beetle lives up to its name: it releases a musky-smelling secretion when it defends itself. It is a longhorn beetle, so has lengthy antennae. Look for it near wetlands in…

This brown seaweed lives high up on rocky shores, just below the high water mark. Its blades are usually twisted, giving it the name Spiral Wrack.

The red-throated diver lives up to its name - the distinctive red patch on its throat heralds the breeding season. In summer, it nests in Scotland, but look out for it around the UK's coast…

Musk mallow has pretty pink flowers that can be seen along roadside verges, hedgerows and field margins in summer. It lives up to its name, producing a delicate, musky smell that increases indoors…

This yellow-brown seaweed grows in tufts at the very top of rocky shores. Its fronds curls at the sides, creating the channel that gives Chanelled Wrack its name.

A ferocious and agile predator, the green tiger beetle hunts spiders, ants and caterpillars on heaths, grasslands and sand dunes. It is one of our fastest insects and a dazzling metallic green…

Spot these tall, prehistoric looking birds standing like a statue on the edge of ponds and lakes, contemplating their next meal.

The water scorpion is not a true scorpion, but it certainly looks like one! An underwater predator, it uses its front pincer-like legs to catch its prey. Its tail actually acts as a kind of '…