As spring sunshine warms our gardens and woodlands, one of the earliest and most energetic pollinators to appear is the tree bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum). With its distinctive ginger brown thorax,…

Among the many butterflies that grace our countryside each spring and summer, few are as instantly recognisable, or as dearly loved, as the striking peacock butterfly (Aglais io).

Small and fast flying, the holly blue is usually the first blue butterfly to be seen each year, appearing from late April and May.

The small tortoiseshell is one of the most recognisable butterflies in the UK. Its wings are a rich reddish-orange, marked with bold black patches and flashes of yellow on the forewings, while a…

As autumn deepens, the days grow shorter, the air turns crisp, and many of our familiar butterflies vanish until spring. But one species refuses to disappear. The comma butterfly, with its ragged…

November was once the quiet season for bumblebees. By mid-autumn, most colonies had died away, leaving only newly-mated queens tucked into soil or leaf litter to wait for spring. But across the UK…

Slugs and snails might not be the first creatures we welcome into our gardens, yet these humble molluscs are essential players in the natural world.

Hampshire’s gardens, hedgerows and woodland edges take on a special character in autumn, with berries ripening, fungi pushing up through damp soil and leaves beginning to turn. Among this seasonal…

The ruby-tailed wasp (Chrysis ignita agg) is one of the UK’s most striking insects, and has an equally fascinating breeding habit. As a parasitic wasp, it has earned the nickname ‘cuckoo wasp’ for…

A flash of shimmering blue on a sunny Hampshire day is always a treat - but not all blue butterflies are the same. Three species you may see are the holly blue, the common blue and the chalkhill…