This large, brown beetle can be seen swarming around streetlights in spring. They live underground as larvae for years and emerge as adults often in large numbers. Listen for their characteristic…

Musk mallow has pretty pink flowers that can be seen along roadside verges, hedgerows and field margins in summer. It lives up to its name, producing a delicate, musky smell that increases indoors…

Sea potatoes may have a funny name, but they are perfectly adapted for life in the sand. They are a type of sea urchin that live in a burrow in the sand, feeding on dead animals and plants using…

This black and grey solitary bee takes to the wing in spring, when it can be seen buzzing around burrows in open ground.

The black poplar is a large tree of floodplains, flooded gravel pits and ditches, particularly in England. Despite being an important part of our culture for centuries, it has declined massively…

Orca, sometimes known as ‘killer whales’, are unmistakable with their black and white markings. Although we do have a small group of orca who live in British waters, you would be lucky to see them…

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…

The Yew is a well-known tree of churchyards, but also grows wild on chalky soils. Yew trees can live for hundreds of years, turning into a maze of hollow wood and fallen trunks beneath dense…

This tiny wading bird is most often seen in autumn, feeding on the muddy margins of wetlands.

There are several species of spider that live in our wetlands, but the water spider is the only one that spends its life under the water. In its pond habitats, it looks silvery because of the air…