A handsome fish, the tench has olive-green flanks, powerful fins and distinctive red eyes. It can be found in lowland lakes and slow-flowing rivers around the UK.

A recent colonist to south east England, the metallic-green willow emerald damselfly spends much of its time in the willow and alder trees that overhang ponds, lakes and canals.

The yellow flower heads of common ragwort are highly attractive to bees and other insects, including the cinnabar moth.

Enchanter's nightshade is a hairy plant, with rounded leaves that taper to a fine tip, and clusters of small, pinky-white flowers in summer.

Great mullein is an impressive, tall plant of waste ground, roadside verges and gardens. Its candle-like flower spikes rise from rosettes of furry, silver-green leaves.

The noble chafer is a rare and beautiful metallic-green beetle that can be found in traditional orchards. It is on the wing over summer, feeding on umbellifers. The larvae live in the decaying…

Soft brome is a tall, annual grass of roadside verges, waste ground and meadows, and is a 'weed' of arable land. It has long, grey-green leaves and loosely clustered flower spikes.

Found almost everywhere, the large yellow underwing is a night-flying moth that is often attracted to lights. It is brown with orangey-yellow hindwings.

A very rare species, this moth is now limited to one site in the UK. Males can be a striking reddish buff in colour.