The fearsome-looking hornet may not be a well-loved insect, but it is actually much less aggressive than the common wasp. It is also an important pollinator and a predator of species that feed on…

Living up to its name, the common blue damselfly is both very common and very blue. It regularly visits gardens - try digging a wildlife-friendly pond to attract damselflies and dragonflies.

The common prawn is a familiar sight to anyone who has spent time exploring rockpools - particularly their characteristic quick dart into the darkness just as you spot them!

Water-soldier grows submerged in ponds and open water, and pops up over summer, looking like the top of a pineapple! This rare plant displays white flowers and shelters many aquatic insects.

A very rare ant, once found on heathland across southern England but now restricted to Scotland and Devon. It constructs distinctive thatched nests in open areas at the edges of scrub, and forages…

The fluffy, white seed heads of traveller's-joy give it the evocative, alternative names of 'old man's beard' and 'Father Christmas'. A climbing plant, it can be seen…

A 'weed' of cultivated and disturbed ground, Round-leaved fluellen is a trailing plant with round leaves and yellow flowers that appear over summer.

Common couch is a tall, tuft-forming grass of roadside verges, waste ground and arable land. It is very tough and can shade out more delicate plants. Look for flat, blade-like leaves and thin…

Hazel is a small tree of woodlands, grasslands and gardens that is regularly coppiced - the practice of cutting the stems of a tree to allow new shoots to grow. It is well known for its long,…