The giant house spider is one of our fastest invertebrates, running up to half a metre per second. This large, brown spider spins sheet-like cobwebs and pops up in the dark corners of houses,…

This strange furry creature often found washed ashore after storms is actually a kind of worm!

Look for Water avens in damp habitats, such as riversides, wet woodlands and wet meadows. It has nodding, purple-and-orange flowers that hang on delicate, purple stems.

The Notch-horned cleg-fly isa horse fly dark grey in colour, with grey-brown mottled wings and intricately striped, iridescent eyes. There are 30 species of horse-fly in the UK; this is one of the…

Look for wood avens along hedgerows and in woodlands. Its yellow flowers appear in spring and provide nectar for insects; later, they turn to red, hooked seedheads that can easily stick to a…

A spring delight, the wood anemone grows in dappled shade in ancient woodlands. Traditional management, such as coppicing, can help such flowers by opening up the woodland floor to sunlight.

Annual meadow-grass is a coarse, vigorous grass that can be found on waste ground, bare grassland and in lawns. In some situations, it can be considered a weed.