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 …
Knapweed Fritillaries
I’m in a field in the south of Italy. A butterfly has settled in front of me: I know it’s a fritillary. …
Bewitched
We’re exploring the scrub and woodland verges and fields of an abandoned farmhouse in Apulia in the south of Italy. We shouldn’t …
Swallowtails
It’s unmistakable: a Swallowtail Butterfly: It’s taken us ages to get this close. It’s hot and the butterfly is very active. Here …
The Bee-Hive Beetle
That’s bright! It’s got bright red and black striped warning colouration. It’s the Bee-Hive Beetle, Trichodes alvearius, named by Johan Christan Fabricius …
Taccole – Jackdaws in the chimneys
Matera in the south of Italy is a stone city full of nooks and crannies. It’s perfect habitat for Jackdaws, or Taccole …
No need to chase
There are Broad Bodied Chaser Dragonflies in the old city of Matera. There’s one amongst the plants on a rooftop: Changing my …
Yellow belts
It’s the hour that the greyness comes, as the sun sets, shadows lengthen and a fading yellow band retreats below the horizon. …
Blue Blood and Black Veins
For a language with 180,000 words, the English language is seriously deficient when it comes to the natural world. Take the word …