The Guardian has launched the public voting phase for its annual Invertebrate of the Year contest. Readers are now able to choose a winner from a shortlist of ten invertebrates, which were selected from over 1,300 nominations.
The competition aims to highlight the diversity and importance of invertebrate species. Previous winners include the earthworm in 2024 and the microscopic Milnesium tardigradum in 2025.
This year's shortlist features a range of creatures, from the large Bombus dahlbomii bumblebee and the Lord Howe Island stick insect, to the metres-long bootlace worm and the Turritopsis dohrnii, known as the immortal jellyfish.