Lime hawk-moth
The lime hawk-moth is a large, night-flying moth that can be seen from May to July in gardens, parks and woods. It is buff-coloured, with green patches on its scalloped-edged wings.
Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
The lime hawk-moth is a large, night-flying moth that can be seen from May to July in gardens, parks and woods. It is buff-coloured, with green patches on its scalloped-edged wings.
One of our most common butterflies, the meadow brown can be spotted on grasslands, and in gardens and parks, often in large numbers. There are four subspecies of meadow brown.
Look for the small, pink, pea-shaped flowers of Common restharrow on chalk and limestone grasslands, and in coastal areas, during summer.
The umbrella-like clusters of white, frothy flowers of cow parsley are a familiar sight along roadsides, hedgerows and woodland edges.
Enchanter's nightshade is a hairy plant, with rounded leaves that taper to a fine tip, and clusters of small, pinky-white flowers in summer.
Herb-robert is a low-growing plant, with small, pretty, pink flowers. Look for it in shady spots in woodland, hedgerows and coastal areas.
Look for the deep magenta, star-shaped flowers of Marsh cinquefoil in marshes, bogs, fens and wetlands in the north, west and east of the UK.
The brown long-eared bat certainly lives up to its name: its ears are nearly as long as its body! Look out for it feeding along hedgerows, and in gardens and woodland.
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.
The coal tit is mainly found in coniferous woodland, but can also be spotted in gardens and parks. It is smaller than the great tit, but has a similar bicycle pump-like song.
The common harvestman is familiar to us as the large, spindly spider-like creature that frequents gardens and houses. It predates on smaller invertebrates which it catches using hooks on the ends…
The laughing 'yaffle' call of the green woodpecker can be heard in our woodlands, parks and gardens. Look out for it hopping about your lawn, searching for ants to eat.