Invertebrates

These are animals without a backbone or bony skeleton. This is the largest group in the animal kingdom; 97% of all animals on Earth are invertebrates living on land, in fresh water and the sea. It is a very varied group ranging from microscopic flies to enormous octopus. What invertebrates have you spotted in your garden?Some familiar examples of invertebrates include:-

Arthropods are covered in a hard exoskeleton
- Insects- have 6 legs, 3 parts to body, antennae, 2 pairs of wings (butterflies, moths, flies, dragonflies, beetles, bees, ants)
- Arachnids- have 8 legs, 2 parts to body, many spin webs (spiders)
- Crustaceans – have more than 8 legs and a segmented body (woodlice, crabs)
- Myriapods – have very many legs and a segmented body (millipede, centipede)
echinoderms - have a star-like appearance with five-way symmetry and spiny skins
- sea urchins
- starfish

molluscs – many of these have shells
- snail and slug
- squids
- octopuses
annelid – these have a long, muscular, segmented body
- earthworms
- leeches
cnidarians - many of these have stinging cells
- jellyfish
- sea anemones
- corals
porifera
- sponges

Identifications:

Small Tortoiseshell - photo by Martin Ro

Butterflies

Adult Mullein Moth - Photo Penny Stevens

Moths

Caterpillars

Bees

Wasps

Dragonflies

Beetles

Worms

White tailed bumble bee, Red Admiral and Speckled Wood butterflies

Dragonflies, damselfly, butterflies, moths and caterpillars

Things to do:

Bug Mansion

Bug House Filling Materials

Butterfly House

Support Mason Bees

Make a wildlife pond