The long mane of tentacles that stream out from the lion's mane jellyfish is stunning… literally! Look but don't touch when it comes to these jellyfish - they give a powerful sting.

One of our prettiest and smallest bumble bees, the early bumblebee has a bright orange tail and lemon-yellow bands on its body. It is very common and can be found in all kinds of habitats in early…

The distinctive rounded wings of the lapwing are displayed beautifully when it wheels around a winter sky in a massive flock. In spring, these flocks disperse and some birds breed in the UK.…

Red dead-nettle does not sting. It displays dense clusters of pinky-red flowers in whorls around its stem, and can be found on disturbed ground, such as roadside verges.

The black poplar is a large tree of floodplains, flooded gravel pits and ditches, particularly in England. Despite being an important part of our culture for centuries, it has declined massively…

The Black-tailed skimmer is a narrow-bodied dragonfly that can be seen flying low over the bare gravel and mud around flooded gravel pits and reservoirs. It is on the wing from May to August.

The emperor dragonfly is an impressively large and colourful dragonfly of ponds, lakes, canals and flooded gravel pits. It flies between June and August and even eats its prey on the wing.

The scorpionfly, as its name suggests, has a curved 'tail' that looks like a sting. It is, in fact, the males' claspers for mating. It is yellow and black, with a long 'beak…

The hairy-footed flower bee can be seen in gardens and parks in spring and summer, visiting tubular flowers like red dead-nettle and comfrey. As its name suggests, it has long, orange hairs on its…