Soil ecologist & macrophotographer | He/Him | Author of 'The World Beneath Our Feet', publishing in Aug/Sep '26! www.frankashwood.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mjkjij3zds23This week is #GSB4 #GSB2026, the highlight of the soil biodiversity calendar! Sadly I couldn't make it this time (the joys of being a new father), so I guess I'll just contribute some photos instead... starting with this beautiful red-legged mite traversing a moss-covered log. #SoilBiodiversity 🧪15 Apr 2026 18:27 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjkjij3zds23https://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mjfsy4bm2k2sOkay, having my springtail photography on the cover of @natecoevo.nature.com is pretty cool! [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Apr 2026 21:33 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjfsy4bm2k2shttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mj4upktlq22tI appreciate all the love for my previous post, so, here's a little more velvet worm / Peripatus cuteness to start your weekend off right! Beneath that adorable little eye, you can see the stumpy glue cannon, which it uses to subdue prey! #Macrophotography #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet 🧪10 Apr 2026 08:10 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj4upktlq22thttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mive7kbdgc2vI recently discovered this incredible creature while on a night walk in the NZ bush. Known as a 'Velvet Worms', this adorable predator immobilises prey with organic glue fired from turrets on its head! Oh... and they are basically unchanged in about 400 million years! #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet 🧪07 Apr 2026 08:26 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mive7kbdgc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mikdb2oqe22iWant to start doing soil animal macrophotography? Or fancy a rare glimpse into mine and @mesofauna.bsky.social's minds? An article has just dropped in @soilorganismsj.bsky.social, showcasing mine and Andy's love for documenting soil biodiversity! 🧪🪱 Open Access: https://soil-organisms.org/SO/article/view/504/51702 Apr 2026 23:10 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mikdb2oqe22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mhef5tpnd22gThe final proofs of THE WORLD BENEATH OUR FEET are in, so it's almost time for this labour of love to go to the printers! My popular science-style book about the incredible life in soil is now available for pre-order EVERYWHERE. Now I just have to decide the shortlist of my photos for it... 🧪🪱18 Mar 2026 21:03 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhef5tpnd22ghttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mg2rwykwt226Some exciting life news... I am now a lecturer in Entomology and Ecology at Lincoln University in NZ! We took the Entomology students on a fieldtrip over the weekend, and saw some of my favourite invertebrates: Velvet worms and giant springtails! Always a treat to see these! #SoilBiodiversity 🧪02 Mar 2026 08:00 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg2rwykwt226https://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mfp6h77dd223If you go down to the woods today, you might see a GIANT EARTHWORM! 🪱 In New Zealand it’s fieldwork time for the second round of @soilbon.bsky.social, and some incredible native earthworms turned up yesterday during soil sampling! #SoilBiodiversity #WormWednesday @barnesecodiv.bsky.social 🧪25 Feb 2026 17:12 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfp6h77dd223https://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mewoqlwkp22n"We have such mites to show you" Today is the last day to vote in the 2026 Bug of the Year contest! Vote now for the Hellraiser Mite: https://bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-2026/ P.S. There is also a giant earthworm worthy of your love (you get 3 votes) 🪱 #BugOfTheYear #BugOfTheYear2026 🧪15 Feb 2026 23:27 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mewoqlwkp22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mdlm2gdn3k2wToday is my final day of book writing, then it's off for copyediting and out of my hands! It's been a true labour of love, and I'm feeling bittersweet. How better to cross the finish line than with coffee in this mite-y good mug by @fminifera.bsky.social #SoilBiodiversity #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet 🧪29 Jan 2026 20:14 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdlm2gdn3k2whttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mcxgmu2kjk2hPick up the nearest book. Turn to page 42 and post the second sentence. This is from my own book, as I nervously make final edits before the imminent copyediting deadline: "The trigonotarbid is distractedly devouring its prey, unaware that it too is being hunted." [contains quote post or other embedded content]21 Jan 2026 19:44 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcxgmu2kjk2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mc4thihhvk2fHas world news got you thinking an eternity with Pinhead and the Cenobites actually sounds quite pleasant? Then why not go support the Hellraiser mite in this year's NZ Bug of The Year competition! You get 3 votes, and there's also a GIANT earthworm... 🧪🪱 https://bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-2026/11 Jan 2026 05:51 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mc4thihhvk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mbacgjg7zk2qOnly one month left to finish my edits, and then the book is off for copy editing and out of my hands… if I fall off the radar over the next few weeks, this is why! 🧪 The US publication date has been announced as 1st Sep '26, available for preorder here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/779567/the-world-beneath-our-feet-by-frank-ashwood/30 Dec 2025 21:32 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbacgjg7zk2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mapex6uxcs22Wishing everyone a very happy holiday. May the festive velvet worm crawl into all of your houses tonight and boop your sleeping snoots with its many adorable feet, as is tradition. A sincere thanks for all the support throughout this year. I'm looking forward to my new book hit the shelves in 2026!24 Dec 2025 04:02 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mapex6uxcs22https://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3m7u3yqix3k2vMite harvesters (Cyphophthalmi) are super interesting from a biogeography perspective - the six families have distributions which reflect plate tectonics of ancient landmasses. The family here in New Zealand can be traced to Gondwana breaking from Laurasia some 200ish MYA! #TheWorldBeneatOurFeet 🧪13 Dec 2025 07:40 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7u3yqix3k2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3m7gxjo5z7224There are few soil animals as adorable as the 'podgy' springtails! This Platunurida sp. is a cousin of the famous 'giant' springtails in New Zealand. Instead of colourful spines, it has a flattened body, enabling it to squeeze into cracks in decaying logs where it lives. #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet 🧪📸08 Dec 2025 02:15 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7gxjo5z7224https://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3m7bd625l4s2kHappy 5th December, World Soils Day!! Please take a moment to think about your local patch of soil - whether it's your garden, a local park or even a nearby forest. Is the soil is being looked after well there? If not, what can you do to protect it for future generations? 🧪🪱 #Soil #WorldSoilDay05 Dec 2025 20:27 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7bd625l4s2k