If you spot a crawling shell next time you're at the seaside, take a closer look… it might be a hermit crab!

The turnstone can be spotted fluttering around large stones on rocky and gravelly shores, flipping them over to look for prey. It can even lift rocks as big as its own body! Although a migrant to…

The herring gull is the typical 'seagull' of our seaside resorts, though our coastal populations have declined in recent decades.

Introduced from Japan in the 19th century, Japanese knotweed is now an invasive non-native plant of many riverbanks, waste grounds and roadside verges, where it prevents native species from…

With black-and-yellow markings, the hornet mimic hoverfly looks like its namesake, but is harmless to us. This mimicry helps to protect it from predators while it searches for nectar.

With brown-and-orange markings, the drone-fly looks like a male honeybee, but is harmless to us. This mimicry helps to protect it from predators while it searches for nectar in gardens and urban…

The laughing 'yaffle' call of the green woodpecker can be heard in our woodlands, parks and gardens. Look out for it hopping about your lawn, searching for ants to eat.

The jay is a colourful member of the crow family, with brilliant blue wing patches. It is famous for searching out acorns in autumnal woodlands and parks, often storing them for the winter ahead…

The black garden ant is the familiar and abundant small ant that lives in gardens, but also turns up indoors searching for sugary food. In summer, winged adults, or 'flying ants', swarm…

Did you know your seaside scampi was actually a kind of lobster? Traditionally so - although the scampi that is often eaten with chips can be anything from prawns to fish.