Noble chafer
The noble chafer is a rare and beautiful metallic-green beetle that can be found in traditional orchards. It is on the wing over summer, feeding on umbellifers. The larvae live in the decaying…
The noble chafer is a rare and beautiful metallic-green beetle that can be found in traditional orchards. It is on the wing over summer, feeding on umbellifers. The larvae live in the decaying…
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.
Sea cliff, foreshore, limestone grassland, heathland, secondary Ash woodland, and quarries. Part of the South Gower Coast SSSI, which in turn is part of the European Natura 2000 site, the…
A fierce pirate of the sea, the Arctic skua is renowned for stealing fish from other seabirds and dive-bombing anyone that comes near its nests. It breeds in the far north of Scotland and on the…
The eel is famous for both its slippery nature and its mammoth migration from its freshwater home to the Sargasso Sea where it breeds. It has suffered dramatic declines and is a protected species…
The Bechstein's bat is a very rare bat that lives in woodland and roosts in old woodpecker holes or tree crevices. Like other bats, the females form 'maternity colonies' to have…
The black garden ant is the familiar and abundant small ant that lives in gardens, but also turns up indoors searching for sugary food. In summer, winged adults, or 'flying ants', swarm…
The broad-bodied chaser is a common dragonfly that can be seen in summer around ponds and lakes, and even in gardens. It lives up to its name: its flattened body gives it a fat, broad look.
This large, brown beetle can be seen swarming around streetlights in spring. They live underground as larvae for years and emerge as adults often in large numbers. Listen for their characteristic…
The Common fragrant-orchid lives up to its name: it produces a sweet, orangey smell that is very strong in the evening. Look for its densely packed, pink flower spikes on chalk grasslands in…