The sober Society of Biology want our help in choosing the nation’s favourite celebrity. Not the wannabee winner of a dance or talent show, but a member of that great unsung workforce without which humanity would collapse – the insect world. The shortlist of 10 includes such “poster critters” as the garden tiger moth whose fluffy caterpillar is called the woolly bear, the small tortoiseshell butterfly, dubbed the house sitter for its habit of hibernating in our homes, and the emperor dragonfly aka lord of the skies. Pondering the vote I went into the garden. One of the other candidates was hard at work. The poppy bed shimmered with marmalade hoverflies. No wonder they’re nicknamed the gardener’s friend, not only do they provide vital pollination service