Help with identification

Dragonflies and Damselflies: View

The British Dragonfly Society website includes help with identification for Dragonflies and Damselflies

Moths: View

UKmoths is an online guide to the moths of Great Britain and Ireland. It aims to illustrate as many species of British moths as possible 

Butterflies: View

The UK Butterflies website provides information on all of the butterfly species found in the British Isles, including those that are extinct or migrants. 

European Butterflies: View

A great website with wonderful photos by Matt Rowlings dedicated to European Butterflies. Search through a list of English or Scientific names. 

Beetles: View

A place to start to identify which beetle family you need to look in - lots of images for each family to help work out where your specimen might fit in! Then go to Naturespot https://www.naturespot.org.uk/gallery/beetles and put the family in the search feature to get images of possible beetles and their names to search further.

Bugs: View

Help identifying UK bugs and information on bugs and their habitats from BugLife

True bugs (Hemiptera): View

True bugs (Hemiptera) (which include shield bugs) are one of the major groups of insects found in the UK, comprising nearly 2000 species. This website illustrates as many of these as possible, since they are poorly covered by popular field guides.  

Auchenorrhyncha: View

Auchenorrhyncha are part of the Hemiptera ('true bugs') and include insects commonly referred to as leafhoppers, planthoppers, froghoppers, treehoppers and cicadas. Almost 400 species have been recorded in Britain and Ireland. 

Frogs, Toads and their spawn: View

The Amphibian and Reptile Trust has information about where to find them, how to identify them, their lifecycles and protection. 

Lizards: View

The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust has information about them, where to find them, how to identify them, their lifecycles and protection. 

Newts: View

The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust has information on them, about where to find them, how to identify them, their lifecycles and protection. 

Snakes: View

The Amphibian and Reptile Trust has information on them, about where to find them, how to identify them, their lifecycles and protection. 

Birds: View

Use this RSPB tool to help identify UK birds

Birds' eggs: View

This is a British Wildlife Wiki with good images. It's a visual guide to the most commonly found bird eggs in Britain. 

Trees: View

The UK has at least fifty species of native trees and shrubs, and many more species of introduced non-native trees. Here is some help in identifying species from the Woodland Trust. 

Wild flowers: View

A wonderful website with lots of photos to check identfication of wildflowers in the UK. Less easy to use to identify when you don't have a clue. 

British plants: View

A to Z thumbnail images of all British plants. Uses Latin names, can switch to common names but then get European and Australian plants too!

Wild plants and Fungi: View

Plantlife will let you filter by rarity, name, colour, habitat or month to display photos with links to further information

Wild mushrooms: View

Help identifying edible and poisonous fungi. Not a comprehensive guide of UK mushrooms. There are roughly 15,000 types of wild fungi in the UK. 

Plantlife Spotter Sheets: View

Seasonal and habitat specific spotter sheets to download and use to identify plants and meadow life. 

ID sheets from Discover the Wild: View

Download selected ID sheets from a choice of fungi, plants, moths and other bugs 

iSpot: View

iSpot is a website where anyone can browse to identify flora and fauna. If you register you can post a picture, attempt an identification if you can and experts will confirm or suggest their opinion of what it is. 

Wildlife Safari: View

"For Anyone Interested in the Wildlife of the UK". Good photos and some detailed information on many of the UK's flora and fauna.