One thing we need to get out of the way when talking about slow worms – they’re not worms or, indeed, snakes. Despite their serpentine appearance, they are in fact legless lizards and the only such creature native to Britain!

The way we can tell that they’re actually lizards rather than snakes is the fact they can blink with their eyelids and shed their tails to avoid getting caught by predators. You can also tell them apart from snakes by their size, as they only tend to be around 30-50cms long, and by their lack of a distinct neck, meaning its head and body all look one of the same.

Slow worms like to burrow into loose soil and nose through dense cover or long grasses, which has made the use of legs redundant, however the presence of bony plates - called osteoderms - beneath their smooth scales makes it difficult for them to slither with great speed or ease. Instead, they rely on camouflage or, more usually, the use of cover to protect them from predators and to keep them warm.

Unfortunately slow worms appear on the menu of a number of wildlife, including adders, badgers, birds of prey, foxes and hedgehogs. If you own a cat you’re also unlikely to see a slow worm in your garden, as they’re known to fall foul to them too!

Research shows that slow worms use their tongues to sense the presence of ambush predators, flicking their tongues in and out to 'smell'. They are able to tell the difference between the scent of a predator snake and other harmless species, and have a few different defence mechanisms at their disposal to avoid meeting an untimely end.

Sometimes they ‘freeze’, hoping to go undetected, or ‘flee’ away quickly, but if they can’t get away their first weapon of choice in their arsenal, as it were, is defecation. The smell of their poo alone can be enough to deter some predators! Though if that doesn’t to it, they employ their most impressive trick – detaching their tail. The discarded tail thrashes about for several minutes, distracting their attacker and giving the slow worm the chance to get away.

This time of year – late April through to June – is mating season for slow worms. Usually quite placid creatures, males will become aggressive with each other at this time of year to bag themselves a mate. And it doesn’t stop there – during courtship (which can last as long as 10 hours!), males take hold of females by biting her head or neck and intertwining their bodies. After a gestation period of a few months, females can give birth to up to 12 baby slow worms, usually in August or September.

So, where are you likely to see these fascinating creatures? Unlike snakes who can be seen basking directly in the sunlight, slow worms prefer to hide beneath logs or rocks or within rotting vegetation, to take in the heat from their surroundings. If you’re lucky enough to have a compost heap in your garden or allotment, you might find one there making use of the cover, warmth and plenty of insects to eat! They tend to be most active at dusk, when they hunt for food.

If you want to help make more space for slow worms, set aside an area of your garden where you can leave your grass to grow long – it is No Mow May after all! This will give them cover and increase the number of bugs for them to munch on. Slow worms are great garden guests as they like to eat insects like slugs, meaning your plants might have so respite and attract more pollinators – a biodiversity bonus!