This colourful fly can be found on flowers in wooded areas.

A common spider of heathland and grassland, the nursery web spider has brown and black stripes running the length of its body. It is an active hunter, only using its silk to create a protective…

Look for the pretty, star-shaped, white flowers of Lesser stitchwort in woodlands and meadows, and along hedgerows and roadside verges in spring. Its flowers are smaller than those of Greater…

Listen out for the 'drumming' sound of a male snipe as it performs its aerial courtship display. It's not a call, but actually its tail feathers beating in the wind. Snipe live on…

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…

The kestrel is a familiar sight hovering over the side of the road, looking out for its favourite food: small mammals like field voles. It prefers open habitats like grassland, farmland and…

The common name of the bloody-nosed beetle derives from its unusual defence mechanism: when threatened, it secretes a distasteful blood-red liquid from its mouth. This flightless beetle can be…

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…