Fairly widespread but uncommon throughout Britain and Ireland, because of their diminutive size and behaviour of fruiting within decaying fungi that themselves are unlikely to grab the attention, Asterophora lycoperdoides, the Powdery Piggyback, and A. parasitica, the Silky Piggyback, are easily overlooked.

M. seynesii (seynii) is a rarely recorded, small to medium sized, chestnut-brown to purplish-brown Mycena.

The Bearded Tooth, Hericium erinaceus is surely one of the most striking and beautiful of all British woodland fungi.

As the season changes from summer to autumn, the days shorten, the temperature drops and the sun rests low in the sky. It is a time of year that I particularly like as the trees start to whisper to one another in the breeze, and their leaves turn from green to many shades of gold. It is of course not only the trees that provide this multitude of colour.

Post mating, the female Wasp Spider, Argiope bruennichi weaves in the region of five flask-shaped egg cocoons, typically containing several hundred eggs, in the higher parts of the vegetation.

European butterflies are arguably the best-studied group of invertebrates in the world. Uncovering cryptic biodiversity is essential for understanding evolutionary processes and patterns of ecosystem functioning, as well as for nature conservation.

When out and about I often hear comment from inexperienced observers on the difficulty in separating the Brown Argus, Aricia agestis (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) from the ‘brown’ form of the female Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in both field and photographic situations.

Found solitary or in small groups on the fallen male catkins of the Common Alder, Alnus glutinosa or willows, Ciboria caucus is a widespread species though one that is easily overlooked due to its small size and wet habitat.

Although widespread, Encoelia furfuracea (Helotiales: Sclerotiniaceae) is generally regarded as an uncommon find in Britain.

The Common Stinkhorn, Phallus impudicus is the commonest of the British stinkhorns, with a smell that is typically detected long before the fungus is actually found.

Although their appearance might suggest that slime moulds are fungi, they are neither fungi nor moulds; though they often form spore-bearing structures that resemble those of true fungi.

Rarely seen in Britain, the Red Cage, Clathrus ruber is a striking and unforgettable species, which was first recorded in Britain from the Isle of Wight in 1844.

The funnel-shaped fruitbodies of Cyathus striatus are always a pleasure to find. However, although often clustered in large groups, they are easily overlooked because they are small and inconspicuous and because their habitat is typically dark, damp woodland.

The aptly named Devil’s Fingers, only rarely seen in southern Britain, is a striking species, which reached Europe from Australia or New Zealand at the start of World War I (1914). It was first recorded in Britain from Cornwall in 1946.

Despite its contemporary British vernacular name, the Small Heath is not confined to heathland and can be found in a wide range of habitats particularly those that are more open in structure, such as grassland, heathland, railway embankments, disused quarries, meadows and coastal dunes. It occurs only sparingly in woodland where it can be found in ones and twos along wide woodland rides.

The Green Long-horn, Adela reaumurella is a small day-flying micromoth belonging to the family Adelidae, the fairy longhorn moths.