Common sexton beetle
The Common sexton beetle is one of several burying beetle species in the UK. An undertaker of the animal world, it buries dead animals like mice and birds, and feeds and breeds on the corpses.
The Common sexton beetle is one of several burying beetle species in the UK. An undertaker of the animal world, it buries dead animals like mice and birds, and feeds and breeds on the corpses.
With a population of 75 million, the field vole is one of the UK's most common mammals. Hidden among the vegetation of grassland, heathland and moorland, it is not as easily spotted as the…
Unsurprisingly, the garden bumblebee can be found in the garden, buzzing around flowers like foxgloves, cowslips and red clover. It is quite a large, scruffy-looking bee, with a white tail. It…
The guelder-rose is a small tree of hedgerows, woods, scrub and wetlands. It displays large, white flowers in summer and red berries in autumn, which feed all kinds of birds, including Bullfinches…
The redshank lives up to its name as it sports distinctive long, bright red legs! It feeds and breeds on marshes, mudflats, mires and saltmarshes. Look out for it posing on a fence post or rock.…
The knopper gall wasp produces knobbly red, turning to brown, growths, or 'galls', on the acorns of Pedunculate Oak. Inside the gall, the larvae of the wasp feed on the host tissues, but…
Traditionally a small finch of woodland and scrub, it appears that the lesser redpoll is now moving into our gardens. It has a streaky brown body, red forehead and black bib, and mostly feeds on…
The most common wood ant is the southern wood Ant, or 'red wood ant', which is found in England and Wales. An aggressive predator, it plays a vital pest control role in our woodlands.…
The blue-tailed damselfly does, indeed, have a blue tail. It is one of our most common species and frequents gardens - try digging a wildlife pond to attract dragonflies and damselflies.
The grass snake is our longest snake, but don't worry if you find one in the compost heap - it's harmless! Look out for this green and yellow beauty in grasslands and wetlands, too.