Butterfly numbers fell by more than a fifth across the UK countryside last year, a study has revealed.

A bumblebee which vanished from the English countryside almost a quarter of a century ago has been reintroduced.

Native black honeybees are doing better across the UK than previously thought, according to a study which raises hopes they could help boost the insect's fortunes.

I wrote recetly that four is not really a sufficient number for seasons, with mid-March, for example, being neither spring proper nor late winter, but something in between. And the spring's true heart also does not fit with the traditional versions. As far as I am concerned, spring in southern England, where I live, begins this Sunday, 15 April.

There is little evidence that over-the-counter cures for insect bites work, according to new research today.

End the denial over bee poisoning

The Government is to reconsider its refusal to ban neonicotinoid pesticides, the nerve-agent chemicals blamed for the collapse of bee colonies worldwide, the chief scientist at the Department of the Environment, Sir Robert Watson, told The Independent.

Worldwide declines in bee colonies, threatening much of global agriculture, may be caused by a new generation of nerve-agent pesticides, two new studies strongly suggest.

Twice in the past three years, the Government has been asked, on the basis of compelling evidence, to suspend the use of the new generation of neonicotinoid pesticides, until the increasingly worrying evidence that they are extremely harmful to bees and other pollinating insects has been shown to be unfounded.

Two studies confirm dangers of 'nerve agents' used on one-third of all British cropland

Much of Britain's wildlife, from dragonflies to water voles, face a difficult summer because of the drought, the Environment Agency has warned.

Exceptional dry spell threatens species from trees to tadpoles

The hotel