Purple emperor
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…
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Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Chwilio
Palmate newt
The palmate newt looks similar to the smooth newt, but favours shallow pools on acidic soils like heathlands. During the breeding season, males grow distinctive black webbing on their hind feet.…
Common fragrant-orchid
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…
Herb-paris
Herb-Paris has four oval leaves set in a cross, with an understated crown of yellow-green flowers rising from the middle. This makes it quite a distinctive plant of ancient and damp woodlands on…
My back-to-school
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…
Starling
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…
By-the-wind-sailor
These mysterious and beautiful creatures rely on warm ocean currents to ‘sail’ them around the world... not a bad life?
Common seal
The smaller of our two UK seal species, common seals are also known as harbour seals. Despite being called "Common", they are actually less common than grey seals!
Chimney sweeper
This sooty-black, day-flying moth is active on sunny days, rarely settling in one place for long.
My remedy
Elise has been coming to Potted Histories for four years. The activities help her overcome the pain that arthritis causes her, and to cope better with her diabetes because being outside makes her…
Violet ground beetle
Violet ground beetles are active predators, coming out at night to hunt slugs and other invertebrates in gardens, woodlands and meadows.
Death's-head hawk-moth
This unmistakeable moth, famous for its skull-shaped marking, is a rare visitor to the UK.