At this point of the crisis in our relations with the natural world, we’ve got to protect these creatures – and we are running out of time

• Read more from the Guardian’s invertebrate of the year 2026

Too many animals are regarded as “bugs”. And, if anything is a bug, it is a short step to it becoming a “pest”. Too many of us have a learned fear – it’s not innate – of anything with six legs or antennae.

I’m a big fan of the invertebrates and I love the Guardian’s invertebrate of the year competition because it focuses people’s attention on the little things rather than the typical animal superstars – the pandas, tigers and orangutans. In their diversity and varied ecology, the million-plus invertebrates on our planet often lead far more intricate and interesting lives than large animals with spines, like us. We urgently need to generate a much broader awareness of their beauty and importance. All these small creatures are as integral a part of our ecosystems as the fluffy things that we may want to put on our calendars.

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The leaf sheep, a neon green solar-powered slug, has inspired at least one Pokémon character and triumphs in global ballot

A neon green solar-powered slug that lives underwater is the winner of the increasingly popular Invertebrate of the Year competition run by the Guardian.

The leaf sheep, Costasiella kuroshimae, triumphed in the global ballot after hundreds of thousands of readers around the world read about and shared their appreciation for the spineless creatures who make up the majority of animal life on Earth.

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The genre-hopping hitmaker’s new album fingerpicks the same melancholy heartstrings as Sea Change. You can ask him anything in our upcoming reader interview

News of a Beck album is always cause for celebration, especially when it’s seven years since the last one – 2019’s Hyperspace – but even more so when it’s recorded with the same wrecking crew as the melancholy classics Sea Change and Morning Phase (having originally got together for 1998’s Mutations). That’s Smokey Hormel, Joey Waronker, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Roger Joseph Manning Jr and Jason Falkner; Nigel Godrich also joined on mixing. Beck said: “This time it felt like the playing and the chemistry had evolved and deepened – a sound that’s come together over the decades of working together.”

A first taste of their wares is already available in Ride Lonesome, a wise, almost cosmic ode to keepin’ on keepin’ on, and the serene, fingerpicked In the Night.

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Hiro_A has added a photo to the pool:

peaceful-jp-scenery has added a photo to the pool:

Inawashiro Herb Garden
猪苗代ハーブ園

There were also colorful windmills.
カラフルな風車もありました。

Inawashiro-machi, Fukushima pref, Japan

jspeter9191 has added a photo to the pool:

Today(20/08/26) evening at My village(Tallawong), Sydney, Australia.
Peace be with you.

Ze zagen het ongeluk niet gebeuren, maar Rikki en een andere bewoonster schrokken vannacht wel wakker van de harde klap. Vlakbij hun flat in Rotterdam-Prins Alexander crashte een auto. De 20-jarige bestuurder uit Capelle aan den IJssel kwam daarbij om het leven. "Het was onwerkelijk om te zien."

peaceful-jp-scenery posted a photo:

Gassan Highland Sunflowers
月山高原ひまわり畑

The sunflowers were blooming vibrantly on Mount Gassan Plateau, though they were drooping slightly.

月山高原ではひまわりが元気いっぱいに咲いていました。ちょっとうつむき気味でしたが。

Tsuruoka city, Yamagata pref, Japan

peaceful-jp-scenery posted a photo:

Inawashiro Herb Garden
猪苗代ハーブ園

There were also colorful windmills.
カラフルな風車もありました。

Inawashiro-machi, Fukushima pref, Japan

Idite Lesom said it has received a growing number of complaints from individuals who were forcibly detained and coerced into signing contracts with Russia’s Defense Ministry.