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…

The common cockle is a traditional seaside favourite, both for its white shells often found in the sand and for the yummy snack of cockles doused in malt vinegar.

The UK is home to so many incredible sea slugs, like this elegant nudibranch.

This small sea snail is easily identifiable by the 3 brown spots on the top of its shell.

One of 2 seahorses found in UK seas, long snouted seahorses are recognisable by their longer snout and fleshy "mane".

A small, but feisty scavenger, this carnivorous sea snail does not let anything go to waste!

Familiar as the bristly plant that easily hooks on to our clothing as we walk through the countryside or do the gardening, cleavers uses its hooks to help it climb and to disperse its seeds.

This large burrowing bivalve, also known as the Icelandic cyprine, is found on sandy seabeds around much of the UK. It is the longest-lived animal known to man, with one individual found to be 507…

This brightly coloured and easily recognizable fish is one of three gurnard species found in UK seas. Collectively, gurnards are known as sea robins.