Small heath
The small heath is the smallest of our brown butterflies and has a fluttering flight. It favours heathlands, as its name suggests, as well as other sunny habitats.
Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
The small heath is the smallest of our brown butterflies and has a fluttering flight. It favours heathlands, as its name suggests, as well as other sunny habitats.
The bird cherry can be found in wet woodlands and along streams in upland areas, in particular. Its fragrant blossom appears in April and is followed by bitter, black fruits - good for wildlife,…
Elder is an opportunistic shrub of woods, hedges, scrub, waste and cultivated ground. Its flowers and berries are edible, but it's best to gather wild food with an expert - try it at a…
The six-spot burnet moth is a day-flying moth that flies with a slow, fluttering pattern. Look for it alighting on knapweeds and thistles in grassy places. It is glossy black, with six red spots…
The azure damselfly is a pale blue, small damselfly that is commonly found around most waterbodies from May to September. Try digging a wildlife pond in your garden to attract damselflies and…
The Scots pine is the native pine of Scotland and once stood in huge forests. It suffered large declines, however, as it was felled for timber and fuel. Today, it is making a comeback - good news…
A ferocious and fast predator, the devil's coach horse beetle hunts invertebrates after dark in gardens and on grasslands. It is well-known for curling up its abdomen like the tail of a…
This moth first arrived in the UK in 2007 and has rapidly spread throughout England.
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.
Buddleia is a familiar shrub, well-known for its attractiveness to butterflies. It is actually an introduced species, however, that has become naturalised on waste ground, railway cuttings and in…