Wasp beetle
A clever mimic, the wasp beetle is black-and-yellow and moves in a jerky, flight-like fashion - fooling predators into thinking it is actually a more harmful common wasp. Look for it in hedgerows…
A clever mimic, the wasp beetle is black-and-yellow and moves in a jerky, flight-like fashion - fooling predators into thinking it is actually a more harmful common wasp. Look for it in hedgerows…
Wood melick is a slender, drooping grass that grows in dense patches in ancient woodlands and along shady banks. It has nodding flower heads, with brown, egg-shaped spikelets that contain the…
Petty spurge is found on cultivated ground, such as gardens, fields and waste ground. It displays cup-shaped, green flowers in clusters and oval, green leaves.
The fluffy, white seed heads of Traveller's-joy give it the evocative, alternative names of 'Old Man's Beard' and 'Father Christmas'. A clematis-like climber, it can…
Iolo Williams, BBC TV naturalist, loves visiting Parc Slip Nature Reserve near Bridgend. It’s the perfect wildlife day and the arable fields inspire him in his personal and professional life - a…
Our most common hoverfly, the marmalade fly is orange with black bands across its body. It feeds on flowers like tansy, ragwort and cow parsley in gardens, hedgerows, parks and woodlands.
Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer of 2014. After undergoing a life-saving operation and an intensive chemotherapy course, she is on the road to recovery.
Wildlife…
Drostre Wood is a small mixed deciduous woodland containing oak and birch. Below the canopy of the tallest trees there is a wide range of smaller tree species including aspen, elder, yew, hawthorn…
The most common wood ant is the southern wood Ant, or 'red wood ant', which is found in England and Wales. An aggressive predator, it plays a vital pest control role in our woodlands.…
A scrambling 'weed' of waste ground, fields and gardens, Common fumitory can be found on dry and disturbed soils. Its pink flowers appear over spring and summer.
Lowland mixed oak and ash woods include the iconic bluebell woods so central to our notion of British woodland. Mostly quite small and bounded by ancient banks, they are full of history. At their…
Beautiful displays of flowers spread under the gentle shade of unfurling ash leaves in spring, while in winter the abundant ferns and mosses mean these small, rocky woods retain a watery greenness…