This colourful fly can be found on flowers in wooded areas.

Have you ever seen those worm-like mounds on beaches? Those are a sign of lugworms! The worms themselves are very rarely seen except by fishermen who dig them up for bait.

Look out for the white, umbrella-like flower heads of lesser water-parsnip along the shallow margins of ditches, ponds, lakes and rivers. When crushed, it does, indeed, smell like parsnip!

The bright blue, trumpet-shaped flowers of the marsh gentian contrast deeply with the pinks and purples of the wet heaths it inhabits. The New Forest holds a large population of this late-…

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 thick topshell is a common sight on rocky shores in Wales and South West England.