Wildlife
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Dabbling in duckweed: environmental uses for a green menacePlantwatch Despite its troublesome reputation, the weed blanket smothering ponds and waterways also has its virtues as a biofuel and food
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Game of Ants: two new species named after Daenerys Targaryen's dragonsTwo new ant species with spiny back barbs reminded scientists so much of the Khaleesi’s dragons they named them Pheidole drogon and Pheidole viserion
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Why I am backing the Natural History Museum's garden redevelopmentGardens and nature are both constantly evolving, and the green spaces at the Natural History Museum in London are no exception, argues Robbie Blackhall-Miles
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How do flies know which way to jump to avoid the swat?The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific concepts
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Les Stocker obituaryCampaigner who founded Tiggywinkles, the UK’s first wildlife hospital, and championed new approaches to helping injured and sick animals
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How to catch a poacher: Breaking Bad and fake eggsConservationists and law enforcement have struggled to catch the Walter Whites behind wildlife trafficking. But could some plastic eggs and GPS trackers change the game?
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Animal welfare groups push US to classify all leopards as endangeredConservationists are calling on the US to raise the protection level for leopards, severely curbing hunters’ ability to import body parts as trophies
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RSPB calls for grouse shooting estates to be licensedGroup says move would allow shoots to be banned if birds of prey are illegally killed, amid withdrawal from hen harrier scheme
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Bollywood star Salman Khan acquitted of poaching chargesActor was previously convicted of killing three endangered animals but higher court in Rajasthan has overturned the verdict
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Young people urge UK politicians to help safeguard natureTwo-thirds of 16- to 34-year-olds consider environmental and wildlife policies a top voting priority, according to survey
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Tigers maul woman to death and wound another at Chinese wildlife parkThe Siberian tigers attacked the women when they got out of their car at Beijing Badaling Wildlife World
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Grey triggerfish – new to British waters, and to the fishmonger's slabSpecieswatch A fish familiar to Mediterranean fishermen can now be caught around Britain, from the south-west to the Hebrides
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George Sands’ novels in tune with natureLetter: She doesn’t quite give human attributes to the natural features, but the peasants (the good ones at least) who inhabit the landscape form an integral part of it
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Campaigners seek to reintroduce Eurasian lynx to parts of BritainCharity begins local consultation on plan to introduce 10 Eurasian lynxes back into wild in north of England and southern Scotland
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A roe deer doe transforms the sceneCountry diary: Achvaneran, Highlands The only recourse was to do a ‘wildlife watch’, ignoring everything else and concentrating solely on what was around in nature
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US surfer survives crocodile attack after friend fights off reptileThe man suffered serious injuries after being attacked while crossing a river at a popular tourist beach in Costa Rica
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Week in wildlife - in picturesA greater roadrunner and a pair of snub-nosed monkeys are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
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Diving enthusiasts could be used to measure ocean temperaturesDecompression computers worn by recreational and commercial divers provides accurate data, study shows
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Shy dragonfly of the boggy mossCountry diary: Delamere Forest, Cheshire Red and blue damsels drift around me like filaments on the breeze but I am here to see a rarer species: the white-faced darter
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Sweet talk: wild birds and human honey hunters converse, study showsHoneyguide birds are well known for signalling human honey hunters, but research shows that the communication goes both ways
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How to survive a bear encounter (and what to do if it all goes wrong)You’re more likely to die from a tick bite or a bee sting than to you are to be killed by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone park, but here are a few tips just in case
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Royal swan upping – in picturesIt’s July on the Thames and its time to ... count swans. Photographers Dan Kitwood and Toby Melville went to cover the curious centuries-old annual census where the birds on the river are tagged and counted
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Nature's floral tapestry sown into fabric of Tyneside industryCountry diary: Ouseburn, Newcastle I hoped the chance juxtaposition of folk art and wild flowers at a once derelict site did not give way to a municipal shrub scheme cum litter trap
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Queensland setting catch limits for endangered sharks based on ‘dodgy data’Experts calls for reinstatement of observer program as commercial shark catches jump dramatically on Great Barrier Reef
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Walk this way: desert ants move backwards with heavy loads, study findsStudy shows that deserts ants can walk and navigate backwards when moving oversized food, a discovery that could inform robotics, researchers say
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South Africa's great white sharks face extinction, says studyResearch shows ‘rapid decline’ in numbers caused by hunting, pollution and nets
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Microbeads report reveals loopholes in pledges by biggest firmsGreenpeace urges legal ban to tackle problem after finding that top personal care companies fell short on commitments
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Snake on a train: police seize jungle python from man showing it off to passengersNew South Wales police were called after 20-year-old man took metre-long jungle python – named ‘Bread’ – from backpack to show other travellers
Biodiversity greater inside Earth's protected areas, study finds