Last year I discovered two female Wasp Spiders in a secluded part of Andrews Wood and recently found another one in the same area. This must be the offspring from one of last year’s adults so hopefully they are becoming established at that location.

The common name refers to the large (18 mm) females which are brightly coloured with black and yellow stripes across their abdomens. Males are tiny (4 mm) and a plain brownish colour. They often get eaten after mating.

Females make large webs near ground level in tall grass. They are one of a very few spiders which can be easily recognised.

Unfortunately, so much wildlife comes into this difficult to identify category.

Identification can produce a dilemma when the procedure begins by killing an insect before examining it under a microscope. The professional entomologist’s argument is that compared to the numbers taken by birds, spiders and other insects they have a negligible impact.

It is true that one or two specimens taken for scientific purposes might be acceptable but what about groups of 10 or more people each just taking a few? Victorian collectors were held partly responsible for the extinction of Large Blue butterflies from the Bolt Head to Bolt Tail area.

Part of the potential problem is that many rare species are virtually identical to the common forms. So the only option is to take everything for microscopic examination.

Professional entomologists are capable of instantly identifying many insects so those can be quickly released unharmed. I try to do my identification photographically but that means I have to ignore many of the tricky types.

It always feels good to find something which is rare but regular recording of the common stuff is a better indicator of the general environmental health of a site. Uncommon wildlife may simply be passing through and not established at that location.

It isn’t just insects which I often find difficult to identify. Blackbirds and Robins in my garden are obvious but I struggle with many of the Buntings, Pipits, Warblers and similar birds in the wider countryside. If I can get a good photo I am in with a chance, after consulting my books. But that begins with a large ‘if’.

Wild flowers can also present considerable identification challenges. A few even need examination of their seeds using a hand lens for a certain answer. Many plants require a close look at their flowers, leaves and stems. What do the basal leaves look like, are the stems hairy or smooth, etc? That becomes another book consultation.

I am currently seeing a lot of low growing bright yellow flowers at many locations. Some are Yellow Bartsia with a flower spike of small butter coloured rather tubular hooded flowers. These can be confused with Yellow Rattle although I tend to think the flowers of that species look like miniature parrot’s beaks when viewed from the side.

Then there are Birdsfoot Trefoil flowers which are a member of the general pea family, having similar flowers and leaves to that group. One good identification clue is that the bright yellow flowers are often splashed or streaked with reddish orange.

Full identification may be difficult because there are 5 similar looking species of Trefoil, although 3 of them are uncommon. Yellow coloured members of the Vetch and Medick families (also part of the pea group) can be another source of confusion.

While thinking of yellow things. Some Clouded Yellow Butterflies have recently arrived in our area. They are summertime immigrants so numbers fluctuate from one year to another and they were scarce last year.

They are normally an obvious bright golden yellow although there can be paler variations and it is often difficult to get a close look as they flit from flower to flower.

Once again, there is potential confusion with two slightly paler alternative species, but the Pale Clouded Yellow and Berger’s Clouded Yellow species are rare in this country.