Hairy dragonfly
The UK's smallest hawker, the Hairy dragonfly is mostly black in colour, but has a distinctively hairy thorax. It can be found in grazing marshes and flooded gravel pits, and along canals…
The UK's smallest hawker, the Hairy dragonfly is mostly black in colour, but has a distinctively hairy thorax. It can be found in grazing marshes and flooded gravel pits, and along canals…
This brightly-coloured beetle is often found feeding on flowers on warm days in late spring and summer.
An inconspicuous tree for much of the year, the Wild service tree comes to life in spring, when it displays pretty, white blossom, and autumn, when its Maple-like leaves turn bright crimson.
A member of the buttercup family, Common water-crowfoot displays white, buttercup-like flowers with yellow centres. It can form mats in ponds, ditches and streams during spring and summer.
So-named because its gnarled trunk can split as it grows, the Crack willow can be seen along riverbanks, around lakes and in wet woodlands. Like other willows, it produces catkins in spring.
The broad-bordered bee hawk-moth does, indeed, look like a bee! A scarce moth, mainly of Central and Southern England, it feeds on the wing and can be seen during spring and summer.
This sponge is found on rocky shores around the UK and looks like a thick bready crust (if you use your imagination a bit!).
One of our prettiest and smallest bumble bees, the early bumblebee has a bright orange tail and lemon-yellow bands on its body. It is very common and can be found in all kinds of habitats in early…
The distinctive rounded wings of the lapwing are displayed beautifully when it wheels around a winter sky in a massive flock. In spring, these flocks disperse and some birds breed in the UK.…
The stinging nettle is a familiar and common plant, often firmly rooted in our memories after our first, hands-on experience - a prickling irritation that's not forgotten easily!
The ringed plover is a small wader that nests around the coast, flooded gravel pits and reservoirs. It is similar to the little ringed plover, but is a little larger, has an orange bill and legs,…