“What’s that creature?”
 | Small Tortoiseshell Wingspan 40mm A pretty butterfly, widespread and common in parks and gardens, where flowers abound. Upper wings are brightly marked orange with yellow and black flecks. Underwings are paler camouflaged version of the tops. Eggs are laid on stinging nettles where the caterpillars feed. Adults are often found hibernating in outbuildings. |
It’s really satisfying to be able to identify the wildlife you see. It adds a new dimension to your understanding of the world around you and the inter-dependence of all our natural flora and fauna.
Most of us can identify a greater or lesser number of creatures from our own experience in our towns and gardens. However, how much do we know about the differences between the sexes? Summer and winter plumage? Eating habits? Breeding habits? Sometimes we are only going to get fleeting glimpses of creatures in our normal lives. A badger or weasel crossing the road at night.
The tail of a deer running through the wood. Or a pretty little flower on the verge as we wait in a traffic queue.
Key Features
Our guides will provide you with a good overview of the key features and lifecycles of the subjects but we also want to help you quickly make a correct identification. We will therefore be adding as many images as possible to accompany the physical descriptions, along with Quick ID to help you confirm your sighting.
