Meet the twerking pollinator with a bum-bag: the dark-edged bee-fly

Bombylius major, the thieving, deceiving, fluffy flying narwhal-like insect, that is a harbinger of spring

• Hundreds of nominations for invertebrate of the year whittled down to 10

Everybody loves bees. But these bumbling pollinators are ten a penny. How about a pollinator who twerks? A pollinator with a bum-bag for storing sand? A pollinator that pretends it's a bee but actually looks far cooler? A pollinator with a dark side?

All hail the dark-edged bee-fly (Bombylius major), a beautiful insect that's been likened to a fluffy flying narwhal. An insect whose arrival in the skies of temperate Europe, North America and parts of Asia signifies that spring is here.

Between 24 March and 2 April, we will be profiling a shortlist of 10 of the invertebrates chosen by readers and selected by our wildlife writers from more than 2,500 nominations. The voting for our 2025 invertebrate of the year will run from midday on Wednesday 2 April until midday on Friday 4 April.