The much-loved mallard is our most familiar duck, found across town and country. If you're feeding the ducks please don't feed them bread - it's not good for them! Instead, they…

The common spangle gall wasp produces a small, disc-shaped growth, or 'gall', on the undersides of oak leaves. Inside the gall, the larvae of the wasp feed on the host tissues, but cause…

The knopper gall wasp produces knobbly red, turning to brown, growths, or 'galls', on the acorns of Pedunculate Oak. Inside the gall, the larvae of the wasp feed on the host tissues, but…

The green sandpiper is a very rare breeding bird in the UK, and is mainly seen on migration in autumn. Look out for it feeding around marshes, flooded gravel pits and rivers. It even likes sewage…

The wigeon is a colourful duck that can often be spotted wheeling round our winter skies in large flocks. A dabbling duck, it surface-feeds on plants and seeds in shallow waters.

Despite popular belief, and its name (from the Old English for 'ear beetle'), the common earwig will not crawl into your ear while you sleep - it much prefers a nice log or stone pile!…

A scarce and declining bird, the tree sparrow can be spotted on farmland and in woodlands; it is not an urban bird in the UK. It has a brown cap and black cheek-spots, unlike the similar house…

You are most likely to spot the cat flea if you have pets. It will feed on cats, dogs and people, although it can't live on us. It is a pest and needs to be controlled in the house for the…

Many of us have felt the painful bite of the twin-lobed deer-fly (a 'horse-fly') while out walking in damp grasses or woods. But mostly, it prefers to feed on the blood of cows and…

Living up to its name, the cherry gall wasp produces growths, or 'galls', on oak leaves that look like red cherries. Inside the gall the larvae of the wasp feed on the host tissues but…

This striking duck was introduced to the UK and is now established as a breeding bird in England.

Once considered a weed of cornfields, the cornflower was nearly wiped out by intensive agricultural practices. Today, it can be found in deliberately seeded areas, and on roadside verges and waste…