Twice in the past three years, the Government has been asked, on the basis of compelling evidence, to suspend the use of the new generation of neonicotinoid pesticides, until the increasingly worrying evidence that they are extremely harmful to bees and other pollinating insects has been shown to be unfounded.

The 4am munchies just got a whole lot more convenient in LA, after Sprinkles shop in Beverly Hills created the world's first 24-hour cupcake ATM.

Both reactors at a nuclear power station have been shut down after "high volumes" of jellyfish were found on seawater filter screens.

Holiday-makers are being called on to report their sightings of jellyfish at beaches across the UK, as part of a national survey.

With its circular jaw armed with an array of fearsome teeth, it cruised the prehistoric seas as one of the top marine predators of its day.

A writer fears the omens as our beaches turn glutinous

Sir: How observant of Charles Maybourne (Letter, 6 December) to note the predatory instincts of that devilish suburban murderer, the cat. And his concern for the well-being of a select group of garden wildlife is touching. But why stop there? I admit to a great fondness for cats - and robins, blue tits, blackbirds, voles, field mice and newts. But don't all of these themselves prey upon lesser species? Take care, Mr Maybourne - the Invertebrates Liberation Front probably knows where you live.

ANTI-POLLUTION TEAMS from the Environment Agency and English Nature were striving last night to contain a major leak of industrial acid onto a protected marshland which is a haven for wild birds.

Sir: I was interested to read about Mr Stookers Housefly, Parasitic and Biting Insect Support Group (letter, 7 September) but surely Hilaire Belloc said the last word on this many decades ago:

Sir: We were heartened to see the space given on your letters page to our co-campaigners in the Shellfish Network (3 September). Despite the admitted lowly position of shellfish in the league-table of public sympathy, we at the recently launched Housefly, Parasitic and Biting Insect Support Group believe our constituency to be lower still.

HERMAPHRODITE marine flatworms bury their feminine side and behave in the most crude, macho fashion when it comes to mating, indulging in swordplay with their penises. And female oystercatchersare frequently seen to indulge in lesbian copulation when they share a male. These new observations are in the latest edition of Nature.

Triathlon

The moment:The invaders were first noticed on our shores in early 1995: foreigners hell-bent on destruction. They would emerge at night, punch a hole in their prey and suck them dry, before returning to their hiding place. But this was no vampirish European Commissioner - a worse alien had arrived: Artioposthia triangulator, or the New Zealand flatworm.

From Mr Rod Blackshaw Sir: Diane Reeder (Letters, 17 January) has posed a frequently asked question about the New Zealand flatworm. Our earthworms are important to the quality of soils and plant growth in the UK. When British earthworms are released intoNew Zealand pasture they increase grass growth and make that country even more green and pleasant.