Read on Twitter
In case you’ve been living under a rock (like some of the best invertebrates
!) this weekend is #InverteFest!
This story by Non-human Life correspondent @tamarstelling couldn’t have been timed better (although the timing was a complete coincidence!)1/ https://thecorrespondent.com/377/98-of-all-animal-species-on-earth-have-a-pr-problem-thats-bad-news-for-everyone/49910729154-b415134f
!) this weekend is #InverteFest! This story by Non-human Life correspondent @tamarstelling couldn’t have been timed better (although the timing was a complete coincidence!)1/ https://thecorrespondent.com/377/98-of-all-animal-species-on-earth-have-a-pr-problem-thats-bad-news-for-everyone/49910729154-b415134f
#InverteFest is a periodic Twitter event run by @franzanth, @MaureenBug, and @KellyBrenner that aims to flood Twitter with invertebrates, explore and discover the invertebrates we live with locally, and highlight the lives and beauty of these overlooked creatures 
2/
2/
“Why do these lives need highlighting with #InverteFest?” you may ask.
Well, as @TamarStelling writes, invertebrates do all the dirty work on our planet – process faeces, decompose corpses, pollinate flowers – yet in spite of this, their image sucks! 3/ https://thecorrespondent.com/377/98-of-all-animal-species-on-earth-have-a-pr-problem-thats-bad-news-for-everyone/49910729154-b415134f
Well, as @TamarStelling writes, invertebrates do all the dirty work on our planet – process faeces, decompose corpses, pollinate flowers – yet in spite of this, their image sucks! 3/ https://thecorrespondent.com/377/98-of-all-animal-species-on-earth-have-a-pr-problem-thats-bad-news-for-everyone/49910729154-b415134f
We’re taught to care about animals like these: 
, but not the heroic ant
, who cleans up the equivalent of 60,000 hot dogs off the streets of Manhattan every year. Or the majestic dung beetle, without whom, large swathes of Australian grassland would be covered in poop
4/
, but not the heroic ant, who cleans up the equivalent of 60,000 hot dogs off the streets of Manhattan every year. Or the majestic dung beetle, without whom, large swathes of Australian grassland would be covered in poop 4/
From the Bible to #HarryPotter, our monsters and nightmares are built in the shape of the invertebrate. #InverteFest combats this.
Even in Lord of the Rings, complete with orcs and Saruman, they still have to slip in a giant arachnid for extra horror 5/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=zpLpkfFFsnI&feature=emb_title
Even in Lord of the Rings, complete with orcs and Saruman, they still have to slip in a giant arachnid for extra horror 5/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=zpLpkfFFsnI&feature=emb_title
Our disregard towards the invertebrate is even enshrined in law. Legislation that protects animals only protects 2% of them! The other 98% – the ones #InverteFest highlights – supposedly don't feel pain, although there's no scientific proof backing this claim. 6/
Ok, so invertebrates perform essential functions, and no, we don’t like to cuddle them.
Why is this a problem? Can’t we just live and let live?
Apparently not. In the last 1,000 years human activity has eaten away an estimated 50% of Earth’s biomass 7/
https://thecorrespondent.com/336/climate-change-is-only-half-the-problem-were-destroying-the-earths-layer-of-life/44482771872-2b2a5c57
Why is this a problem? Can’t we just live and let live?
Apparently not. In the last 1,000 years human activity has eaten away an estimated 50% of Earth’s biomass 7/
https://thecorrespondent.com/336/climate-change-is-only-half-the-problem-were-destroying-the-earths-layer-of-life/44482771872-2b2a5c57
Ask scientists about today’s biggest problem and almost all will say: #ClimateChange.
But many entomologists say, the biggest problem we face is mass extinction, or "insectageddon", which would cause Earth to suffocate beneath a thick layer of dead material and human waste. 8/
But many entomologists say, the biggest problem we face is mass extinction, or "insectageddon", which would cause Earth to suffocate beneath a thick layer of dead material and human waste. 8/
A habitable planet requires plants
, insects 
, microbes 
, and lots of fungi 
. The rest is a bonus.
Thanks to the foundation laid by billions of insects – a literal #InverteFest – the birds, mammals and humans that came after, can – and do – flourish. 9/
, insects , microbes , and lots of fungi . The rest is a bonus. Thanks to the foundation laid by billions of insects – a literal #InverteFest – the birds, mammals and humans that came after, can – and do – flourish. 9/
So yeah, let's give our spineless friends the attention they deserve during #InverteFest, and every other day of the year!
Just tell your friends that many types of yeast required for beer hibernate in the wasps’ stomachs!
Get cuddly with the crabs nipping your toes! 10/
Just tell your friends that many types of yeast required for beer hibernate in the wasps’ stomachs!Get cuddly with the crabs nipping your toes! 10/
If you’re a friend of Non-human Life correspondent @tamarstellings, expect a cuddly wasp at the birth of your next child, to help instil the magic of invertebrates into the next generation.
Make like this #InverteFest participant and make your own! 11/ https://twitter.com/maxwillems1/status/1248998699302354944
Make like this #InverteFest participant and make your own! 11/ https://twitter.com/maxwillems1/status/1248998699302354944
Learning to appreciate spineless creatures cannot start early enough. So this weekend, take your kids (or let's be real, you don’t need to be sub-18 to relish in the joys of the jellies, snails, and slugs), and join in on #InverteFest, for all of us, 12/ https://thecorrespondent.com/377/98-of-all-animal-species-on-earth-have-a-pr-problem-thats-bad-news-for-everyone/49910729154-b415134f
Want to keep the invertebrate conversation going after #InverteFest is over?
Join Non-human Life correspondent @tamarstelling, Professor of natural sciences & humanities @J_A_Lockwood, and Ethologist @CiniAles under this article
End/ https://thecorrespondent.com/377/98-of-all-animal-species-on-earth-have-a-pr-problem-thats-bad-news-for-everyone/49910729154-b415134f#comments
Join Non-human Life correspondent @tamarstelling, Professor of natural sciences & humanities @J_A_Lockwood, and Ethologist @CiniAles under this article
End/ https://thecorrespondent.com/377/98-of-all-animal-species-on-earth-have-a-pr-problem-thats-bad-news-for-everyone/49910729154-b415134f#comments
Some highlights from #InverteFest so far: this invertebrate art from @bedupolker: https://twitter.com/bedupolker/status/1248394825214226433
This courgette bee party from @_glitterworm via #InverteFest: https://twitter.com/_glitterworm/status/1248775931046461442
And these beautiful stink bugs (did you know stink bugs were so beautiful?!) https://twitter.com/Manyojo/status/1248979639369977856
