Identify nature

Have you found a strange bug or a new plant in your garden, or stumbled across an intriguing animal bone or fossil while out on a country walk? Let us help you find out more about it.

Jump to

Getting help from our experts

The Museum's Identification and Advisory Service can answer your queries about insects, fossils, plants and other wildlife and natural history specimens found in the UK.

Online help

Email your images and detailed descriptions to:

  • For life sciences, such as bugs, bones, and plants: bug@nhm.ac.uk
  • For earth sciences, such as meteorites, minerals, rocks and fossils: esid@nhm.ac.uk

Or visit the service's Facebook page.

Please include as much detail as possible about the specimen, including:

  • A detailed description
  • Where and when you saw it
  • Its approximate size (including a common object, such as a coin, in any photo is helpful)

Getting help in person, by phone or by post

For other ways to contact the ID team, please visit the Centre for UK Nature's page.

Commercial enquiries

If your business requires advice or an identification of an object from the natural world (such as an insect, tooth, pest ID or CITES identification etc.) please email our commercial service: nhmconsulting@nhm.ac.uk

ID help via Facebook

Found something interesting?

The Museum's Identification service has a Facebook group to help answer your queries on plants, animals, fossils, rocks and minerals found in the British Isles.

Common UK plants, animals and rocks - downloadable ID guides

Animals

Spiders in your home

What spider have you found in your house? Read our identification guides to the most common spiders found in UK homes.

Common UK amphibians identification guide

This guide details the common amphibians you are likely to find around the UK.

Common UK bumblebees identification guide

Download this pocket ID guide for the six most common UK bumblebees.

Common insect and other invertebrate groups

A beginner's guide to identifying the broad groups of common invertebrates found in Britain - such as butterflies, bees, beetles, spiders, ticks and snails.

Guide to identifying common freshwater invertebrate groups

A beginner's guide to the common groups of freshwater invertebrates found in Britain.

Common insect pest species in homes

Found a small black or brown bug in your house? Here are some common insect pests, help in identifying them, and advice on how to control them.

Bats in flight identification guide

Download our handy guide to five of the most common UK bat species.

Plants and algae

Pavement Plants ID Guide

This guide will help you identify most plants that grow frequently on pavements in the UK.

Wall Plants ID Guide

This is a guide to the plants most commonly found growing on walls in UK towns and cities.

UK Tree identification guide

Identify evergreen and deciduous trees found in the UK with this step-by-step guide.

British Orchid guide

A beginner's guide to the common groups of insect and other terrestrial invertebrate found in Britain.

A pile of seaweed called spiral wrack

Rocks and bones

Beginner's guide to identifying UK rock types

A basic guide to common UK rock types, detailing igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks

Beginner's guide to identifying British mammal bones

A beginner's guide to the bones of twelve of the most prevalent wild and domestic mammals found in the UK.

New to wildlife monitoring? Start here.

If you're new to wildlife monitoring, we've an introductory guide that explains what it is and how to get started.

Specialist guides

Lichens on twigs

An illustrated interactive guide to more than 60 lichens.

British grasses

A multi-access key to the common families of British grasses, on the Tomorrow's Biodiversity website.

Related pages

Centre for UK Nature

Develop your natural history skills and interests with the help of our staff, facilities and resources.

Children at the beach explore rockpools

Volunteer monitoring projects

Contribute to our scientific research. Take part in a wildlife survey, collect samples and data, or help us from home with a digital project.

Getting started with wildlife monitoring

Find out what schemes you can take part in, whatever habitat you are interested in.

Accept cookies?

We use cookies to give you the best online experience. We use them to improve our website and content, and to tailor our digital advertising on third-party platforms. You can change your preferences at any time.

Manage my preferences