Category: heathland-i

  • Sexton beetle

    Sexton beetle

    As spring arrives, we can look forward not only to budding flowers, but also to insects, like this Sexton beetle, greeting another year. Photo: Debbie Sea-Kay

  • Green Tiger Beetle

    Green Tiger Beetle

    This might be our commonest tiger beetle, but its metallic green hue and long-legged bursts of speed make it a delight to see in the spring and summer. Photo: Sarah […]

  • Common Crab Spider

    Common Crab Spider

    This little crab spider was spotted scuttling across the beach at Church Cove, near Gunwalloe, but they can be found in many habitats, especially open, undisturbed ground. Photo: Amanda Scott

  • Jumping Spider

    Jumping Spider

    This attractive little species of Jumping Spider was spotted at Kennack Sands. Photo: Tony Blunden

  • Leptothrix

    Leptothrix

    No, it’s not a miniature oil slick. That oily film on the surface of puddles on The Lizard is an iron-oxidizing bacterium. Photo: Amanda Scott

  • Yellow-legged Mining Bee

    Yellow-legged Mining Bee

    The first flight period of the Yellow-legged Mining Bee is in the spring, when you can spot them nectaring on flowers. You can also look out for their nests in […]

  • Chrysotoxum elegans (hoverfly)

    Chrysotoxum elegans (hoverfly)

    The striking and nationally scarce hoverfly Chrysotoxum elegans is often found near the coasts of south-west England and southern Wales. Poltesco is a good place to look for it. Photo: […]

  • Western Bee-fly

    Western Bee-fly

    The Western Bee-fly is a fairly rare species in the UK – it has been spotted on The Lizard, both near Kennack and at Poltesco. Photo: Tony Blunden

  • Beautiful Demoiselle

    Beautiful Demoiselle

    Beautiful Demoiselle damselflies are on the wing from early summer until the early autumn. Photo: © Natural England/Chris Gomersall

  • Marmalade Fly

    Marmalade Fly

    The Marmalade Fly, our most common hoverfly, can be seen most of the year, as overwintering adults will emerge on sunny winter days. Photo: Amanda Scott

  • Four-spotted Chaser

    Four-spotted Chaser

    A common sight in the summer, watch out for the darting, hovering flight of the Four-spotted Chaser dragonfly. Photo: © Natural England/Allan Drewitt

  • Chequered Hoverfly

    Chequered Hoverfly

    There are many species of hoverfly in the UK. While most are known only by their scientific name, this one is distinguished by having a common name of its own. […]

  • Great Green Bush-cricket

    Great Green Bush-cricket

    The Great Green Bush-cricket’s preferred habitat is brambly scrubland, bracken and hedges. Photo: Steve Townsend

  • Gold-ringed Dragonfly

    Gold-ringed Dragonfly

    Gold-ringed Dragonflies have a mostly western distribution in the UK. Photo: Peter Wood