With ginger hairs, dark banding and a cream tail, the Narcissus bulb fly looks like a bumble bee, but is harmless to us. This mimicry helps to protect it from predators while it searches for…

Despite its name, Spurge laurel is not a laurel - it just looks like one! It has glossy, dark green leaves and black, poisonous berries, and can be found in woodlands in southern England, in…

A ferocious and fast predator, the devil's coach horse beetle hunts invertebrates after dark in gardens and on grasslands. It is well-known for curling up its abdomen like the tail of a…

This crab is common around all of the UK. If you've ever been rockpooling or crabbing, it's probably the shore crab that you've met.

The brent goose flies to the UK for the milder winter. Two populations arrive: those with dark bellies can be found around Eastern England; while those with pale bellies can be found in the North…

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,…

Found around our coasts during the breeding season, the large Sandwich tern can be spotted diving into the sea for fish such as sandeels. It nests in colonies on sand and shingle beaches, and…

One of our largest ducks, the shelduck is a handsome creature with a dark green head, red bill and chestnut-brown band across its white body. Look out for it around most of our coastline,…

With their beautiful striped tentacles, it's easy to see where dahlia anemones got their floral name from. Look out for them next time you're rockpooling!