With tiger-like stripes, red fins and a humped back, the perch is a striking fish. It can be seen in lowland waterbodies and waterways across the UK, often in shoals.

With yellow-and-black bands, the giant horntail looks like a large wasp, but is harmless to us. The female uses her long, stinger-like ovipositor to lay eggs in pine trees, where the larvae then…

Looking a bit like a ragged version of a dandelion, mouse-ear hawkweed has lemon-yellow flower heads that are tinged with red at their outer edges. It likes grassy places with short turf and…

An underwater predator, the Saucer bug uses its front pincer-like legs to catch its prey. It can be found at the bottom of muddy, weedy ponds; but handle with care - it can inflict a painful bite…

The red-tinged, flower clusters of Wild angelica smell just like the garden variety, which is used in making cake decorations. Wild angelica likes damp places, such as wet meadows and wet…

The diminutive common eyelash fungus can be found on wet wood and humous-rich damp soil, often by streams or in wet places. Its orange cup is fringed with tiny, black hairs, providing its common…

Turn over large stones or paving slabs in the garden and you are likely to find a red ant colony. This medium-sized ant can deliver a painful sting, so be careful! In summer, winged adults swarm…

As its name suggests, Red bartsia does have a red tinge to its stem, leaves and small flowers. Look for it on roadside verges, railway cuttings and waste ground in summer.

The water scorpion is not a true scorpion, but it certainly looks like one! An underwater predator, it uses its front pincer-like legs to catch its prey. Its tail actually acts as a kind of '…

The bright green ring-necked parakeet is an escapee and our only naturalised parrot; its success is likely due to warmer winters.