Have you ever turned over a large stone in your garden and wondered just what those insects actually are? What they eat? How long they live? Where they nest? Here you can get the low-down on twelve of Britain’s fascinating insects.

Dragonflies & Damselflies – Odonata     Banded Demoiselle (Damselfly) Calopteryx splendens Four-Spotted Chaser (Dragonfly) Libellula quadrimaculata     Butterflies & Moths – Lepidoptera     Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta     Bugs – Hemiptera     Common Froghopper (Spittle Bug) Philaenus spumarius Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina     Earwigs – Dermaptera     Common Earwig Forficula auricularia

Beetles – Coleoptera     Seven-Spot Ladybird Coccinella septempunctata Cockchafer (May-Bug) Melolontha melolontha     Lacewings – Neuroptera     Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperla carnea     Ants, Wasps & Bees – Hymenoptera     Ruby-Tailed Wasps Chrysis ignita and others Black Garden Ant Lasius niger     Flies – Diptera     Drone-Fly Eristalis tenax and others

The Royal Entomological Society would like to thank the following people for their help with this directory:

Steve Brooks, Caroline Daguet, Professor Chris Haines, Andrew Halstead, Dr Tony Irwin, Dr Hefin Jones, Dr Frank Krell, Brian Levey, Charlie Rugeroni, Peter Smithers.