The shrill carder: once-common bumblebee heading for extinction

Bombus sylvarum is now found in only a few pockets as intensive farming destroys UK wildflower habitatsInvertebrate of the year 2024: all hail Earth's spineless heroesNominate your UK invertebrate species of the yearThe shrill carder (Bombus sylvarum) is the bookmakers' early favourite for invertebrate of the year. (I'm picturing a smooth, charming worm giving it the bookies' patter and an embittered elderly grasshopper totting up the odds, disgruntled because his kind wasn't nominated.)Here flies one of our smallest bumblebees, a distinctive greyish-green and straw-hued species which is named after the high-pitched buzz it makes when airborne.Welcome to the Guardian's UK invertebrate of the year competition. Every day between 2 April and 12 April we'll be profiling one of the incredible invertebrates that live in and around the UK. Let us know which invertebrates you think we should be including here. At midnight on Friday 12 April, voting will open to decide which is our favourite invertebrate - for now - with the winner to be announced on Monday 15 April. Continue reading...