Seasons: January

If you were to pick up a rock in the garden, you’d hopefully find a few common woodlouse. These hardy minibeasts have in-built armour and like to hide in warm, moist places like compost heaps.

The defensive mechanism of the pill woodlouse is very recognisable - it curls itself into a tight ball, only showing its plated armour to its attacker. It is an important recycler of nutrients, feeding on decaying matter.

Found in compost heaps and under stones in gardens, the Flat-backed millipede is a common minibeast. Despite its name, it only has about 40 legs. It is an important recycler of nutrients, feeding on decaying matter.

Found in compost heaps and under stones in gardens, the White-legged snake millipede is a common minibeast. Despite its name, it has about 100 legs. It is an important recycler of nutrients, feeding on decaying matter.

A regular in gardens, hunting around compost heaps and under stones, the brown centipede is a common minibeast. Despite its name, it has 15 pairs of legs - one on each segment of its body.

Ever wondered what that little black dot whirling in circles on the top of the water of a pond is? Those are whirligig beetles! Often seen shooting across the water surface on the hunt for its next meal.

The Great diving beetle is a large and voracious predator of ponds and slow-moving waterways. Blackish-green in colour, it can be spotted coming to the surface to replenish the air supply it stores beneath its wing cases.

So-named for its three bull-like horns, the Minotaur beetle is a large dung beetle found on grassland and heathland from the autumn. Adults drag dung back to their nests for their larvae to feed on.

The most common wood ant is the southern wood Ant, or 'red wood ant', which is found in England and Wales. An aggressive predator, it plays a vital pest control role in our woodlands.

Turn over large stones or paving slabs in the garden and you are likely to find a Red ant colony. This medium-sized ant can deliver a painful sting, so be careful! In summer, winged adults swarm and mate.