Shelley, better know as Cornu aspersum, haunts our dreams with their savage leaf destruction. So rather than be terrified of them I set out to know them a little better. There are over 200,000 species of land and seas snails and they first appeared on the planet 550 million years ago, equally at home in the tropics, dessert or deep water. The largest is the African snail with a record of 38cm long and the smallest is .8 of a millimetre. Shelley has up to 14,000 little teeth that rasp bits of leaf off. They can take about a week [...]

Every year, Southern England becomes the stage for a remarkable sight when 3.5 trillion flying insects, equaling the weight of 20,000 reindeer, migrate across the country! Among these insects are the Painted Lady butterflies, the subject of a recent discovery among scientists and butterfly enthusiasts.   The Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) has a 4-7.3cm wingspan and often populates dry open areas. Every spring they journey from their overwintering grounds in North Africa and the Mediterranean region to the UK, Asia and Northern Europe. These butterflies obtain average altitudes of 500m, can reach 30mph in favourable conditions, and can do [...]

Bees are the golden angel-engines of nature. Under severe threat from our agricultural practices, you can provide them a safe haven in your garden or even better, get yourself a bee box and groovy white outfit! Here are some remarkable facts: They pollinate 76% of the world’s crops and add £690m to the UK economy each year. Every year a hive can produce up to 11 kg of honey, and to produce just half a kg they fly up to 55,000 miles to find the flowers! There are over 250 UK species of bee but are under threat from spraying [...]