A bright red beetle, with black legs and knobbly antennae, the red-headed cardinal beetle lives up to its name. Look for it in woodland, along hedgerows and in parks and gardens over summer.

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…

This streaky brown bird is a winter visitor, occasionally found walking around the muddy margins of marshes.

The alder fly is a blackish invertebrate, with delicately veined wings that it folds over its body like a tent. It can be found near ponds and slow-flowing rivers; the larvae living in the silt at…

The mass of white, frothy blossom on a wild cherry is a sight to behold. Planted as an ornamental tree, it also grows wild in woods and hedges. Its red fruits are the edible cherries we know and…

Planaria are flatworms in the phylum Platyhelminthes with amazing regeneration abilities giving them the title 'immortal under the edge of a knife'. There are many different species that…

This glossy wading bird is a scarce visitor to the UK, though records have become more common in recent decades.

Listen out for the cat-like, 'kee-yaa' calls of the buzzard as it soars high over farmland and woodland. Once suffering from severe persecution and pesticide poisoning, it has made a…