This week, we launched our third annual vote to honour nature’s unsung heroes. The Guardian’s natural history writer – and woodlouse fanboy – Patrick Barkham is now answering your questions

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EsIstGeschlossen asks: The more time I spend seeking and watching British wildlife, the less inclined I feel to go abroad in search of more “exotic” species. Our native fauna is every bit as special and fascinating as any other, especially if you’re prepared to put the effort in to see it. If Alaska has bears and whales, and India its tigers and elephants, and Australia its sharks and koalas, what would you make the flagship UK species to encourage interest in our native wildlife?

Patrick:

Yes, let’s hear it for the little guys! Macro photography has really helped many of us deepen our appreciation for the small species because we are very visual animals and most of us respond more emotionally to mammal-like faces. When I first saw a close-up of an Essex skipper butterfly (I’m a big butterfly fan), I couldn’t believe how it resembles a space-age teddy bear with lots of golden brown fur and huge limpid black eyes.

This year, one of the early favourites for Invertebrate of the Year is the leaf sheep, an amazing looking creature which has come of age (in the human world) thanks to advances in underwater and microscopic photography. We had so many nominations for it, especially considering that this is not an animal which many of us will ever encounter in the natural world because it is so tiny and camouflaged.

In Europe we are enduring a serious heatwave, and of course many wild animals are struggling. Clearly sustained drought and the new extremes of global heating will challenge many species, and is contributing to the very real extinction crisis we find ourselves in. But small invertebrates are often surprisingly resilient.

Earthworms, for instance, will burrow deeper into the soil to find moisture. During sustained dry spells, they can enter estivation, where they wrap their bodies into tight balls to reduce the surface area exposed to the soil and seal themselves in a mucus-lined chamber to retain humidity and stop themselves from drying out. They’ve been found to survive in this state for three weeks.

'Most people don’t want pervert glasses that can film us without our consent,' said a spokesperson from activist group Everyone Hates Elon. The group has launched a series of guerilla adverts deriding non-consensual filming by the glasses as well as an email campaign encouraging people to legally object to being filmed by Meta glasses under general data protection regulations, which over 20,000 people have signed.

Rights groups have warned that the glasses threaten the right to privacy, while countries such as Germany are reportedly considering a ban.

And while Meta’s safety guidelines say smart glasses should not be used for 'harassment, infringing on privacy rights, or capturing sensitive information', women have taken to social media to share their stories of being filmed by men without their consent.

Watch as Guardian columnist and Opinion editor Kirsty Major dives into why fears of surveillance and 'creepy men' mean Meta can never convince her to love the glasses – and read more about the glasses via the link in the bio

As Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and their peers have grown richer and more influential, Gil Durán argues they have all but abandoned democracy – and found the perfect government to enable them

In April, Gil Durán was permanently banned from Elon Musk’s X for posting just two words. Durán was responding to a post from the tech company Palantir outlining its 22‑point “technological manifesto”, which praised American “hard power”, western culture and AI weapons, denounced inclusivity and called for compulsory national service. Durán responded: “TLDR: Fascism” (TLDR is short for “too long, didn’t read”).

Durán didn’t break any of X’s written rules, he points out over a video call from San Francisco – so much for Musk’s “free-speech absolutism”. His ban might just have had something to do with his preceding tweet, showing the cover of his new book, The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy. The book’s central argument is that big tech is no longer our friend, as many of its billionaire owners have seized economic and political control and are steering the fate of the planet towards their own bizarre, apocalyptic visions.

Our guest columnist reveals how he found his personal style, from jumpsuits to high-waisted trousers

Other than the jumpsuits, I don’t think I wore anything particularly groundbreaking when I appeared on The Traitors. I just think the bar for men’s fashion is so low that for me to come on television in a chunky mint green jumper and a pair of high-waisted jeans – which is probably one of the most neutral looks I own – seemed like a revelation. There was no styling budget, so most of what I wore came from my wardrobe.

The discovery of my personal style began when I was at primary school on the Isle of Lewis, off the north-west coast of Scotland. I realised I was different to the other boys when I began experimenting with fashion. From a young age I was turning my hems up, and I was certainly more interested in what the girls in my class were wearing.

It looked like it was gone forever, but Jason Sudeikis’s hugely popular show returns with a premise that’s all twee nonsensicality. If you love messages of positivity and togetherness, you’ll be thrilled

Having transported a flailing AFC Richmond to the upper echelons of the Premier League with his wholesome, folksy and highly simile-reliant management style, the finale of Ted Lasso’s third season saw our titular coach return to the US to spend more time with his son in Kansas. At the time (2023), the general impression was that we were waving goodbye for good. But could this intensely American protagonist really do the most British thing of all and bow out at the height of his sitcom’s popularity? Nope. Last year it was announced that its star and co-creator Jason Sudeikis had caved to market forces and was reprising his colossally popular alter ego.

It was the logical thing to do: the 11-time Emmy-winning show was the most-watched streaming original of 2023. Not that logic features heavily in this fourth season. Before we discover how Ted has been lured back to south-west London, we find out what he’s been up to in the interim. Did he parlay his success into US soccer? Return triumphantly to college football? Sit back with his millions and rest on his laurels? Nope, nope and nope again. Instead, he’s working in his local supermarket, warmly greeting his customers by name, providing moral guidance to younger colleagues and generally radiating his trademark howdily-doodily energy. Why? Because he’s a good man without ego who loves to connect and make a positive difference in his community! This is Ted Lasso we’re talking about!

Ted Lasso is on Apple TV

We need an enlightened US president to make the case for global AI regulation. Donald Trump is the exact opposite of what is needed

When I am woken by the sound of my dog whining, I understand that she is hungry and wants me to get up. When my alarm clock goes off, I don’t consider its needs. It is following an instruction to rouse me at a certain time but it doesn’t care if I stay in bed. It doesn’t try to get me up by other means. The dog, on the other hand, will go to plan B. She barks.

This capacity for autonomous action was once a difference between animals and machines. AI has blurred the line. Advanced models devise their own strategies to reach a goal. The task might be defined by a human master, but the machine weighs its options for delivery. It can make its own choices. Given rules, it can break them.

Police arrested a woman in central London after four men were found with stab wounds in the shopping and entertainment district

Workers at the 2 Chairs Grooming Room said one of the victims ran into the shop and took his shirt off, revealing a large gash on his back.

Two of the four men stabbed this afternoon have been discharged from the hospital, the Metropolitan Police posted on X.

Exclusive: Rukhsar Ahmed was re-elected as an MP in Pakistan last week despite being on police bail in the UK

A former Pakistani state minister was arrested two years ago on suspicion of raping vulnerable young girls in Manchester in the 1990s, the Guardian can reveal.

Rukhsar Ahmed, who was re-elected as an MP in Pakistan last week after five years out of office, is on police bail in the UK after his arrest in July 2024 on suspicion of rape and trafficking children in care as part of a grooming gang.

Burnham said his wife, Marie-France van Heel, took some persuading after he ran and lost in contests in 2010 and 2015

Andy Burnham has revealed his wife’s dismayed reaction when he told her he wanted to make another attempt at becoming Labour leader.

Burnham said that his wife, Marie-France van Heel, had been surprised by his decision to run, having lost contests in 2010 and 2015 to Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn respectively.

Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council to meet with Tory party but decline meeting with Joshua Bonehill-Paine

• Badenoch defends decision to allow man jailed for antisemitism to stand as councillor

Ministers will scrap the requirement for companies to prove their green and progressive values before they are awarded government contracts, and instead ask firms to prove they will help young people back into work.

As part of a government push to reduce the number of people not in education, employment or training (Neets) in the UK and boost regional growth, public sector buyers will double the consideration they give to whether companies will get more people into jobs, rather than if they can show they are improving social and environmental wellbeing. Government procurement contracts account for about £90bn of taxpayers’ money spent each year.