3 and 300
Daddy Longlegs only live for three days. I don’t think they even eat as adults. There are about 300 British species. Here’s …
An Orchard Orb-Weaver
Today is hot and oppressive in Virginia. There’s the constant sound of insects, a noisy hum of the motorway and clinging grey …
The name of the snake
I’m standing in the wild patch at the bottom of a garden in Virginia. Away from the well tended, introduced, garden plants …
The Eastern Black Swallowtail
I’ve recently been to Italy and there we saw a Swallowtail butterfly.
Demoiselled if you do, demoiselled if you don’t
Last year I took a photograph of the Large Red Damselfly: Large Red Damselfly I was really pleased with my photograph. This …
Trying to identify Damselflies in distress
There’s a Damselfly in front of me at RSPB Ham Wall. It’s brown and black. There aren’t any brown and black species …
Citizen science and the Marsh Tigers of Somerset
Citizens have always participated in and contributed to science. As a child I grew up surrounded by people so dedicated to their …
Woodland glade
It was very late last year when I saw a Speckled Wood butterfly: Speckled Wood This year it was May when I …
Harlequin
As a young child there was only one Ladybird to me; the seven spot ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata. I remember the excitement of …
The Very Hairy Dragonfly
I saw a Hairy Dragonfly, Brachytron pratense, last year, in May: Hairy Dragonfly Today I can see one in front of me: …
Green Dock Beetle
I’m walking along a stretch of the River Otter in Devon. The sign says there are Beavers here. There’s a green leaf …
Froghopper
I’m walking with my dad along the Hollinwood Branch Canal Local Nature Reserve: The Hollinwood Branch Canal was last used as a …
A Southern Comma
There’s a butterfly in front of me and I know what it is: it’s a Comma. I’ve seen it before, slurping on …
Black Kite, Red Kite, Buzzard
We’re driving along the road in the south of Italy on the border between Puglia and Basilicata when we see a bird …
Ducks in filth
Having ten children is hard. Ask my mum; she was one of ten. It’s a constant struggle to keep them all fed …
Surrounded by Giant Fennel
We are out in the nature reserve which occupies the opposite side of the gorge on which the ancient city of Matera …
Four-Spotted Chasers
There are dozens of Four-Spotted Chasers over the ponds here: They are such entertaining dragonflies: I’ve seen them before, here at RSPB …
Reed Beetle on the reeds
Habitat. It’s the key to the survival of our planet. One species isn’t enough: everything depends upon everything else in a complex …
It’s Not Cricket
There’s a green cricket at my feet. I’d like to get a photograph of it. I crouch down and get my pocket …
Cockchafer
Apparently this is a Cockchafer. I’ll take whoever named its word for it. I’m not about to try it and see for …
Lesser Kestrels on the rooftops
We’re on a residential street in the middle of a city. In a wall there’s a hole in the stonework and we …
Painted Lady
There’s a profusion of beautiful wild pink Valerian growing here in the south of Italy. It reminds me of being back in …
Dove Stone Dove
There’s a white Dove at Dove Stone Reservoir: I’m slightly freaked out by the size of its eyes compared with the size …
Italian Wall Lizards
There are Ruin Lizards everywhere here in the south of Italy: They know no difference between the natural rocks and the ruined …
Sturnus vulgaris
Sturnus vulgaris is the scientific name of the Common Starling. Its literal meaning is ‘Starling Common’. They are certainly common in my …
A Bath White, not a white bath
If you try doing a Google search for the Bath White butterfly, you get a lot of white baths. Don’t try it. …
The smell of death in the month of May
Hawthorn. I love Hawthorn trees. They are still called May-trees in places because, well, people are very literal beings. There are no …
Poppies
We drive in the heat on empty Italian roads through Apulia and Basilicata. We stop at one of the many abandoned farmhouses. …
Southern Skimmer
There’s a female Southern Skimmer, Orthetrum brunneum, flying around us. It’s not a UK species; we’re in Italy. The males are a …
The meaning of Sickle
The word falco, from falcon, means sickle. We’re watching Lesser Kestrels hunting in the fields outside Matera. It’s a breathtaking spot: Across …