The emperor dragonfly is an impressively large and colourful dragonfly of ponds, lakes, canals and flooded gravel pits. It flies between June and August and even eats its prey on the wing.

The black hairstreak is a rare butterfly that is restricted to woodlands and hedgerows containing blackthorn - the foodplant of the caterpillar. It is both elusive and hard to tell apart from…

Often found basking on tall grasses, or buzzing between stems, the small skipper is a small, orange butterfly. It prefers rough grassland, verges and woodland edges.

The soft, downy look of Yorkshire-fog makes it an attractive plant, even if it is considered a weed of cultivated land! It is also attractive to the caterpillars of the Small Skipper butterfly as…

The bronze-coloured bream can be seen gathering in large shoals in lowland ponds, lakes and slow-flowing rivers. It is a member of the carp family and looks similar to the dace, chub and rudd.

The Coppery click beetle is a large, coppery-purple beetle with straw-brown wing cases. It can be found on grassland and farmland, and its larvae are known to feed on roots and damage crops.

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-…

Common whitebeam is not a common tree, despite its name. It can be found growing wild in a variety of habitats, but is also planted in towns and gardens. Look for shiny, oval leaves with white…

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!

Living up to its name, the long-tailed tit can be easily recognised by its long tail. It is a small, pretty, pink, black and white bird that can be seen in woodlands, gardens and parks.

The stinkhorn has an unmistakeable and intense stench that has been likened to rotting meat. Its appearance is also very distinctive: a phallic, white, stem-like structure, with a brown, bell-…