Generally, the Latin names of species do little to fire the imagination-Cypripedium calceolus is no substitute for Lady’s Slipper, for instance-so Natural England and The Guardian are again running a competition to give interesting names to 10 endangered species.
In 2010, the winning name was Queen’s Executioner for a beetle that is only found in Windsor Great Park; other commended names included Sea Piglet and Witches’ Whiskers for marine species.
This year’s list includes the largest British sea squirt and a bright, shiny wasp. To view the list, visit www.naturalengland.org
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