As its name suggests, Deadly nightshade is a highly poisonous plant. Its black, shiny berries may be tempting but fatal. Found on chalky and disturbed ground, such as scrub or verges, it has bell-…

A late-blooming flower, Meadow saffron looks like a crocus, displaying similar pink flowers once its leaves have died back. It is a highly poisonous plant of meadows and woodland rides and…

The Carline thistle produces distinctive brown-and-golden flower heads that look like a seeded thistle. These flowers are attractive to a wide range of butterflies, including the very rare Large…

An iconic tree, particularly in the south of the UK, the common beech stands tall and proud in woodlands and parks. It turns beautiful golden-brown in autumn, strewing the floor with its '…

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.

With brown-and-orange markings, the drone-fly looks like a male honeybee, but is harmless to us. This mimicry helps to protect it from predators while it searches for nectar in gardens and urban…

The tiny, grey-brown house mouse is one of our most successful mammals. It thrives around buildings but is less likely to be found in our houses these days due to better construction.

A spindly tree of heathland and moorlands, and damp soils, the downy birch is well known for its paper-thin, white bark. It is so-called for the hairy stalks from which its leaves grow; the silver…

The bluefin tuna is a highly migratory fish which roams the oceans. This species will cross oceans, travelling between the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. They are speedy swimmers,…

As its name suggests, Himalayan balsam is from the Himalayas and was introduced here in 1839. It now an invasive weed of riverbanks and ditches, where it prevents native species from growing.

The angle shades can be well-hidden among the leaf litter - its pinky-brown markings and scalloped wings giving it the perfect camouflage. It is on the wing in gardens, woods and hedgerows from…