Species Identification Resources
The first step to successful wildlife recording is working out what species have been seen! There are a plethora of free species identification resources available online, some of which we have linked to below. These include websites, pdfs and social media accounts.
If you know of any species identification resources missing from the below list, please contact us.
We have a spreadsheet of Welsh species names (where available) which you can download here.
Resources covering multiple species groups
Field Studies Council ID Resource Finder
Royal Entomological Society Out of Print Handbooks
Database of Insects and their Food Plants
Plants
Flora of Monmouthshire by Trevor Evans (complete book on Issuu)
Rare Plant Register for Monmouthshire (2023) pdf / also available on Issuu
BSBI Plant Identification Resources
National Plant Monitoring Scheme Online Training
Key to British and Irish Rubus Species (draft)
Key to Groups of British Grasses
British Pteridological Society
Glamorgan Botany Facebook Group
Monmouthshire Botany Facebook Group
YouTube Playlist of Flowering Plant Courses
YouTube Playlist of Lower Plant Courses
Mosses & Liverworts
British Bryological Society ID Resources
Glamorgan Bryophytes Facebook Group
Lichen
YouTube Playlist of Lichen Courses
Plant Galls
British Plant Galls Facebook Group
Leafminers and plant galls of Europe
Leafminers
Agromyzidae of Great Britain & Ireland
Agromyzidae Recording Scheme Twitter account
British Leafminers Facebook Group
Leafminers and plant galls of Europe
Fungi & Slime Moulds
British Mycological Society Keys
Glamorgan Fungus Facebook Group
YouTube Playlist of Fungi Courses
Mammals
Beginners guide to identifying British mammal bones
YouTube Playlist of Mammal courses
Birds
South Wales Birding Facebook Group
YouTube Playlist of Bird courses
Amphibians & Reptiles
ARC Amphibian Identification Guide
ARC Reptile Identification Guide
YouTube Playlist of Amphibian and reptile courses
Marine
Marine Species Identification Portal
Marine Isopod Recording Scheme
British Marine Mollusca Facebook Group
Identification Of Intertidal Polyzoa
Key to Sea Spiders (Pycnogonids)
A Guide To The British Coastal Mysidacea (Opposum Shrimps)
Seasearch Identifications Facebook Group
NMW Spotter Guides inc Seaweed and Seashells
Algae (including Seaweed, Stoneworts and Diatoms)
BSBI Charophytes (Stoneworts) resources (including a key to common species)
Freshwater Diatom Flora of Britain and Ireland
Coleoptera (Beetles)
Mike's Insect Keys: British Beetles
Dung Beetle UK Mapping Project
A guide to British soldier beetles
Beetles of Britain and Ireland Facebook Group
Weevils of Britain Facebook Group
Longhorn Beetle Facebook Group
Ladybirds of UK Facebook Group
YouTube Playlist of Beetle Courses
Hemiptera (True Bugs)
Rockwolf (Shieldbug life stages)
Auchenorrhyncha Recording Scheme
Lifestages of British shieldbugs
Psyllids of Norfolk (excludes some species found in Wales)
True Bug books by Lars Skipper (these are in Danish but can be translated using a pdf translator tool)
Orthoptera & Allies (Grasshoppers, Bush-crickets, Groundhoppers, Earwigs, Cockroaches, Stick-insects)
Grasshoppers, Groundhoppers and Bush-crickets
Earwigs, Cockroaches and Stick-insects
A Guide to the Orthoptera and Dermaptera of Shropshire
Steven Falk Flickr Cockroaches
Orthoptera Calls on Xeno-canto
Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies)
Butterfly Conservation: Identify a Butterfly
Butterfly Conservation: Identify a Moth
Common Micro-moths of Berkshire (free e-book)
Illustrated Guide to British Caterpillars
Caterpillars UK Facebook Group
YouTube Playlist of Moth & Butterfly courses
Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps, Ants & Sawflies)
Mike's Insect Keys: Hymenoptera
BWARS (Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Scheme)
UK Bees, Wasps & Ants Facebook Group
Key to Nomada bees (test version)
The Sawflies of Britain and Ireland
British & Irish Sawflies Facebook Group
Beginner’s Guide to Identifying British Ichneumonids
Key to Subfamilies of Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera)
British Ichneumonidae Facebook Group
Illustrated key to European genera of Microgastrinae parasitoid wasps
Cambridgeshire Bees,Wasps and Ants
YouTube Playlist of Bee courses
YouTube Playlist of Wasp courses
Diptera (True Flies)
Dipterists Forum Facebook Group
Dipterists Forum Recording Schemes
A Key To The Families Of British Diptera
Mike's Insect Keys: British Diptera
Cranefly Recording Scheme Twitter account
Cranefly Recording Scheme Facebook Group
Cribsheet for Nephrotoma ("tiger" craneflies)
Cribsheet for woodland Limonia craneflies
Cranefly Recording Scheme webpage
British Soldierflies Facebook Group
Tachinid Recording Scheme Facebook Group
UK Hoverflies Larval Facebook Group
Hoverflies in winter leaf litter
YouTube Playlist of Fly Courses
Odonata (Dragonflies & Damselflies)
UK Dragonflies & Damselflies Facebook Group
Freshwater Invertebrates
Mike's Insect Keys: Caddisflies
YouTube Playlist of Aquatic Invertebrate Courses
Collembola (Springtails)
UK Collembola taxonomy and ecology
Springtails of the Netherlands
Arachnids (Spiders, Harvestmen, Pseudoscorpions, Ticks & Mites)
Families of British Spiders Key
British Spider Identification Facebook Group
British Spiders Facebook Group
Harvestmen of Britain and Ireland FSC Identikit
Paul Richards Flickr UK Harvestmen
Harvestmen of Norfolk (excludes some species found in Wales)
Pseudoscorpions UK Facebook Group
YouTube Playlist of Spider & Harvestman courses
Worms
The Earthworm Society of Britain
Other Invertebrates
National Barkfly Recording Scheme
Lacewings and Allies Recording Scheme
Lacewing book by Ole Fogh Nielsen (this is in Danish but can be translated using a pdf translator tool)
Identification of Scorpion Flies
Thrips Damage and Plant Injury
Land & Freshwater Mollusca Facebook Group
NMW Spotter Guides inc pond snails
British Myriapod and Isopod Group
Introduction to the Identification of the Woodlice
Isopods and Myriapods of Britain and Ireland Facebook Group
