With a population of 75 million, the field vole is one of the UK's most common mammals. Hidden among the vegetation of grassland, heathland and moorland, it is not as easily spotted as the…

Named for its three bull-like horns, the minotaur beetle is a large dung beetle found on grassland and heathland. Adults drag dung back to their nests for their larvae to feed on.

The violet click beetle is a very rare beetle that lives in decaying wood, particularly common beech and ash. It gets its name from its habit of springing upwards with an audible click if it falls…

The small blue's name is a little misleading: it is our smallest butterfly, but only shows a dusting of blue on brown wings. It is scarce, occurring on chalk grassland, mostly in southern…

The Coppery click beetle is a large, coppery-purple beetle with straw-brown wing cases. It can be found on grassland and farmland, and its larvae are known to feed on roots and damage crops.

With its fluffy-looking, light blue flower heads, sheep's-bit is a pretty plant of dry grassland, heaths and clifftops. Sometimes carpeting an area, it is popular with nectar-loving insects…

The small pearl-bordered fritillary is a pretty orange-and-brown butterfly of damp grassland, moorland, and open woodland. It gets its name from the row of 'pearls' on the underside of…

An introduced plant, vervain is widely naturalised in the UK. It is a great source of nectar for all kinds of insects and can be seen on rough grassland, waste ground, coastal cliffs and roadside…

A common thistle of roadside verges, rough grassland and waste ground, the Musk thistle has large, purple, nodding flower heads that appear in summer. It is attractive to a wide range of insects…

The male whitethroat does, indeed, have a white throat! Arriving from Sub-Saharan Africa in April, it can be spotted on grassland and scrub, and along hedgerows. It is bigger than the lesser…