Brown-tail
The caterpillars of this fluffy white moth are best admired from a distance, as their hairs can irritate the skin.
The caterpillars of this fluffy white moth are best admired from a distance, as their hairs can irritate the skin.
You're more likely to see the attractive, brightly coloured caterpillars than the mullein moth itself.
This beautiful moth is often found resting on leaves, though it does also fly during the day.
A common dragonfly of canals, marshes, reedbeds and lakes, the Brown hawker can be seen patrolling the water or 'hawking' through woodland rides. It is easily distinguished by its…
The common pond skater can be seen 'skating' over the surface of ponds, lakes, ditches and slow-moving rivers. It is predatory, feeding on small insects by detecting vibrations in the…
Flowering rush is a pretty rush-like plant of shallow wetland habitats, such as ponds, canals and ditches. Its cup-shaped, pink flowers appear in summer, brightening up the water's edge.
Tim has volunteered at Astley Moss for five years, helping to increase the water levels on the bogs back to their historic healthy levels. He especially loves watching the birds return to this…
The fearsome common backswimmer hunts insects, tadpoles and fish. It uses its oar-like legs to swim upside-down under the water's surface where unsuspecting prey can be found.
The yellow flower heads of common ragwort are highly attractive to bees and other insects, including the cinnabar moth.
Escaped or intentionally freed from fur farms in the 1960s, the American mink is now well established in the UK. Its carnivorous nature is a threat to our native water vole and seabird populations…
Forming mats of straight, bright green stems, Common spike-rush does, indeed, look like lots of tightly clustered 'spikes' near the water's edge of our wetland habitats.
Great reedmace is familiar to many of us as the archetypal 'bulrush'. Look for its tall stems, sausage-like, brown flower heads and green, flat leaves at the water's edge in our…