Meet eighteen creatures you might find in a British garden. Move your pointer and yours will follow you down the page. Choose a different bug at the bottom, and tap the notes to open them.
Macclesfield right now checking the sky…
The number of spots doesn't tell you a ladybird's age. It tells you the species: two-spot, seven-spot, twenty-two-spot and so on.
A seven-spot ladybird can eat thousands of aphids in its lifetime, which is why gardeners are always pleased to see one.
The red shell is a pair of hardened wing cases. The real flying wings are folded underneath and spring out in a fraction of a second.
Bright colours warn birds that ladybirds taste horrible. If threatened they can leak a bitter yellow fluid from their leg joints.
Many ladybirds spend the winter tucked together in groups, in leaf litter, hollow stems or the corners of window frames.
"Lady" is usually traced back to Our Lady: medieval paintings often showed her in a red cloak, and the seven spots were linked to her seven sorrows.
Meet them all
Bombus terrestris
One of our biggest and commonest bumblebees. The queen is the large one you see first in spring.
Bombus lapidarius
Velvety black with a bright orange-red tail. One of the easiest bumblebees to recognise.
Apis mellifera
Slimmer and less furry than a bumblebee, with amber and brown stripes. Watch it dance when it lands.
Episyrphus balteatus
Orange with thin black bands, like a tiny wasp. It hangs perfectly still in the air, then zips away.
Aglais io
Easy to spot thanks to the four big eyespots. The dark undersides look like a dead leaf when it closes up.
Vanessa atalanta
Velvet-black wings with bold red bands and white spots near the tips.
Gonepteryx rhamni
Butter-yellow wings shaped like leaves, each with a small orange spot. Often the first butterfly of spring.
Anthocharis cardamines
A white butterfly whose males have bright orange tips to the wings. A true sign of spring.
Macroglossum stellatarum
A day-flying moth that hovers at flowers with a blur of wings, drinking through a long tongue.
Deilephila elpenor
Pink and olive-green, like a sweet. It flies at dusk and circles around lights.
Aeshna cyanea
A big, curious dragonfly that will often fly right up to have a look at you before darting away.
Calopteryx splendens
A slender metallic-blue damselfly with a dark band across each wing, fluttering like a butterfly.
Coccinella septempunctata
The classic red ladybird, with three black spots on each wing case and one shared in the middle.
Chorthippus brunneus
Brown or green, with big back legs. It doesn't walk to you: it hops.
Lucanus cervus
Britain's biggest beetle. The males have huge antler-like jaws for wrestling rivals.
Lasius niger
The little black ants that march in lines across patios. They come as a whole team.
Snails and spiders aren't insects: a snail is a mollusc, and spiders have eight legs.
Cornu aspersum
Not an insect at all, but a mollusc. It follows you too, very, very slowly.
Araneus diadematus
Not an insect: it has eight legs. It drops down on a silk thread and swings after you. For the brave.
Through the year
The green months are when you're most likely to see each one out and about in Britain. The bug following you is shown in red.
Make room for them
Bees and butterflies need food from early spring to late autumn. Mix early crocuses, summer lavender and late-flowering ivy.
Peacock and red admiral caterpillars feed on stinging nettles. A small untidy corner at the back of a border makes a real difference.
Even a small pond can bring in dragonflies and damselflies, which lay their eggs in the water. A washing-up bowl sunk in the ground is a start.
Pesticides kill the ladybirds and hoverflies that would happily eat your aphids for you. Give them a chance to do the job first.
Hollow stems and old seed heads shelter ladybirds through winter, and a pile of rotting logs is a nursery for stag beetles.
Mowing less often lets clover and dandelions flower, which bumblebees love, and gives grasshoppers somewhere to live.
Next time you're in a garden or a park, slow down for a minute. They're all there if you look closely.
Back to the topReal photos of the animals on this page. Tap one to see it bigger.
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons and are used under free licences. Open a photo to see who took it.
Snails and spiders aren't insects: a snail is a mollusc, and spiders have eight legs.
Pond animals live on the Pond page: choosing one takes you there.
Seashore animals live on the Seashore page: choosing one takes you there.
River animals live on the River page: choosing one takes you there.