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/3mr7u66cwhs2wA cheeky bit of midweek mite-on-mite action! Mites are masters at hitchhiking, or 'phoresy'. This oribatid mite is being taken for a ride by a juvenile dust mite, which is using it to get to greener pastures. When you're so tiny, it pays to outsource your means of travel! #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet 🧪22 Jul 2026 08:00 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr7u66cwhs2whttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mqlsps543k22A not-so-big, 'giant' springtail. This is a member of the new population I recently discovered up in the Port Hills in Christchurch, NZ. They seem smaller than others of their species, possibly due to island dwarfism from living in small, fragmented areas of native bush. #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet 🧪14 Jul 2026 08:41 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqlsps543k22https://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mqilp5zjac2rIf you'd like a little more info about my upcoming book #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet, I recently did an interview with Booktime Magazine. The article is indie bookshop-focused, but should still be of interest to a general reader! 🧪🪱 Online PDF accessible here (pages 4&5): https://indd.adobe.com/view/4d4f24a5-81df-4661-a722-52134018c54c13 Jul 2026 01:57 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqilp5zjac2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mqddrpsaz22eMānawatia a Matariki ✨10 Jul 2026 23:52 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqddrpsaz22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mpxoylmnws2qThe European mole (Talpa europaea) has a toxin in its saliva which paralyses earthworms, their favourite food. The moles can then store the paralysed earthworms in special 'larder' chambers within their burrows, where they are kept alive and fresh until later consumption! #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet 🧪🪱06 Jul 2026 08:41 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpxoylmnws2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mps2755sjs2sThanks to Nerd Nite Christchurch for inviting me to talk about the weird and wonderful ways soil animals have adapted to the challenges of life belowground (and, for tardigrades, on the moon!). I strongly recommend going to your local Nerd Nite, the vibes are excellent! Science + Beer = Fun! 🧪04 Jul 2026 02:45 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mps2755sjs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mpl647bj4c25Turn over a rotting log anywhere in the world, and you might find these beautiful structures, known as the common coral slime (Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa). The species was first described in 1729 by Pier Antonio Micheli, the 'founding father' of mycology — the branch of biology concerning fungi. 🧪🍄01 Jul 2026 09:07 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpl647bj4c25https://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mpdleqiolk23Only two months until the UK/Commonwealth & EU release of The World Beneath our Feet, with the US release just a month after that... It's all feeling very real all of a sudden! Pre-orders are SUPER IMPORTANT, so please reserve a copy from your preferred book seller now! #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet 🧪28 Jun 2026 08:43 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpdleqiolk23https://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3morzyhr7o223Adventures of a tiny white jelly baby. When you're a springtail this smol, microfungi are perfect drinking vessels. I've not been out with my camera much lately; with parenthood, work and book edits taking up my time. But I hope to get back on with macrophotography very soon! #Macrophotography 🧪21 Jun 2026 09:16 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3morzyhr7o223https://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mohex2ca3c2fPress proofs of 'The World Beneath our Feet' are out in the world, and wonderful quotes are coming in. I feel very grateful and humbled by the positive reception so far! Available for pre-order now, with hardcover out in Aug/Sep this year! @hodderbooks.bsky.social @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social 🧪17 Jun 2026 03:33 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mohex2ca3c2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mn7nqbxf4s25This Prickly Stick Insect (Acanthoxyla prasina) is a highlight from a Lincoln Uni ecology field trip to the West Coast this semester. Whilst they are native to New Zealand, this species has been introduced to the UK. If you love stick insect content, you MUST follow @morganemerien.bsky.social! 🧪01 Jun 2026 08:24 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mn7nqbxf4s25https://bsky.app/profile/frankashwood.bsky.social/post/3mn25oro7tk22I've been very quiet here lately, busy juggling teaching and the final touches on my book. It's almost there now! Early endorsements and reviews are coming in (including from some of my environmental science heroes!). Today's glowing review by the illustrious Publishers Weekly was just lovely! 🧪30 May 2026 03:54 +0000at://did:plc:o7ueveepisviowiftsjg3hf7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mn25oro7tk22https://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/3mdlm2gdn3k2w