Living up to its name, the hairy violet is covered in fine hairs. Look for its delicate, violet flowers blooming from March to June on chalk grasslands, in particular.

Living up to its name, the white-tailed bumblebee is black-and-yellow bee with a bright white 'tail'. A social bumble bee, it can be found nesting in gardens and woods, and on farmland…

Sometimes called 'Marsh samphire', wild common glasswort is often gathered and eaten. It grows on saltmarshes and beaches, sometimes forming big, green, fleshy carpets.

Creeping buttercup is our most familiar buttercup - the buttery-yellow flowers are like little drops of sunshine peppering garden lawns, parks, woods and fields.

This yellow-brown seaweed grows in dense masses on the mid shore of sheltered rocky shores. It is identifiable by the egg-shaped air bladders that give it its name.

Living up to its name, the common blue damselfly is both very common and very blue. It regularly visits gardens - try digging a wildlife-friendly pond to attract damselflies and dragonflies.

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…

A bright red beetle, with black legs and knobbly antennae, the red-headed cardinal beetle lives up to its name. Look for it in woodland, along hedgerows and in parks and gardens over summer.

The rhinoceros beetle lives up to its name by sporting a distinctive 'horn' on the males' head. This glossy, blue-black beetle can be found in woods, parks and hedgerows, and…

Swifts spend most of their lives flying – even sleeping, eating and drinking – only ever landing to nest. They like to nest in older buildings in small holes in roof spaces.

The willow tit lives in wet woodland and willow carr in England, Wales and southern Scotland. It is very similar to the marsh tit, but has a distinctive pale panel on its wings.

The candlesnuff fungus is very common. It has an erect, stick-like or forked fruiting body with a black base and white, powdery tip. It grows on dead and rotting wood.