Purple hairstreak
The Purple hairstreak is an elusive butterfly with a brilliant purple sheen. It is entirely reliant on oak trees and can be spotted chasing around the treetops in woodlands and parks.
The Purple hairstreak is an elusive butterfly with a brilliant purple sheen. It is entirely reliant on oak trees and can be spotted chasing around the treetops in woodlands and parks.
Look for the unusual flowers of lords-and-ladies in spring woodlands: a pale green sheath surrounds a spike of tiny, yellow flowers. This spike eventually forms a familiar, short stalk of striking…
Juliet Sargeant was first inspired by nature as a child: when she’s working, her mind often wanders back to playing in the woods with her friends.
She left a career in medicine to train as…
The green hairstreak is the UK's only green butterfly. Look out for the vibrant, metallic sheen of the undersides of its wings on grassland and moorland, and along woodland rides.
The male purple emperor is a stunning butterfly with a brilliant purple sheen. Look for it feeding around the treetops in woodlands, or on damp ground, animal droppings or even carrion in the…
As a child growing up in Ghana, Patience never took an interest in what was going on in the garden. Now, she’s growing her own flowers and vegetables every week, both at the Centre for Wildlife…
The Common fragrant-orchid lives up to its name: it produces a sweet, orangey smell that is very strong in the evening. Look for its densely packed, pink flower spikes on chalk grasslands in…
This remarkable creature shows nature’s fantastic complexity!
The starling is a familiar garden visitor that has a beautiful purple-and-green sheen to its black feathers. It is famous for its wintry aerial displays - massive flocks can be seen wheeling over…
The stinging nettle is a familiar and common plant, often firmly rooted in our memories after our first, hands-on experience - a prickling irritation that's not forgotten easily!