The notch-horned cleg-fly isa horse fly dark grey in colour, with grey-brown mottled wings and intricately striped, iridescent eyes. There are 30 species of horse-fly in the UK; this is one of the…

The colourful and delightful chaffinch is a regular garden visitor across the UK. Look out for it hopping about on the ground under birdtables and hedges.

Also known as the flat topshell, these are one of the most common and colourful sea snails you are likely to see when out on a rockpool safari!

One of the most colourful fish in UK seas, the cuckoo wrasse looks like it belongs in the tropics. Don't be fooled though, it's very much a native species.

In May, our hedgerows burst into life as common hawthorn erupts with creamy-white blossom, colouring the landscape and giving this thorny shrub its other name of 'May-tree'.

The turkeytail is a very colourful bracket fungus that grows throughout the year, but is at its best in the autumn. Its circular caps can be seen growing in tiers on trees and dead wood.

This purply-brown seaweed is a common feature on our rocky shores and on our dinner plates.

The grayling is one of our largest brown butterflies and a master of disguise - its cryptic colouring helps to camouflage it against bare earth and stones in its coastal habitats and on inland…

This stocky relative of grasshoppers is found on damp ground close to water.