🚨 There is less than one month to go until abstract submissions close! 🚨 Where do you think the biggest gaps in soil ecology policy lie at the moment? At this conference we aim to bring together practitioners and academics to discuss and influence soil ecology policy. shorturl.at/L4ehi

This 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! 🧪

I'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! 🧪

This 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 🧪

Breaking news: giant springtail from Aotearoa NZ made the cover of @natecoevo.nature.com! This amazing pic of H. paucispinosa by @frankashwood.bsky.social should lure readers to the global study by @zheng-zhou.bsky.social et al on soil animal trophic diversity 🌍🌿🕷️🪱🪳🧪 www.nature.com/natecolevol/...

Right on time for #GSB2026, soil fauna made it to the cover of Nat Eco Evo (great shot by frankashwood.bsky.social). Attendees who have questions on the journal or papers to pitch, feel free to chat to me at the conference. @thegsbi.bsky.social

Okay, having my springtail photography on the cover of @natecoevo.nature.com is pretty cool!

I 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 🧪

I 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 🧪

Do you love soil organisms? I mean LUV them?? ♥️ Your love will complete with that of photographers Andy Murray @mesofauna.bsky.social & Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social They sat with @mitemonica.bsky.social to talk why & how they do what they do in the current issue! doi.org/10.25674/504

Want 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: soil-organisms.org/SO/article/v...

Love #soil biology? You might like our new biology of soils poster @teagasc.bsky.social showing some of the amazing life in our soils. With huge thanks to the fantastic photographers @frankashwood.bsky.social @israelikoyi.bsky.social and others #Groundtruth #SoilHealth teagasc.ie/wp-content/u...

The 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... 🧪🪱

Some 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 🧪

If 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 🧪

New Zealand bug of the year: moth named Avatar after mining threat crowned winner www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f... Great photos, @frankashwood.bsky.social!

"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: bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-20... P.S. There is also a giant earthworm worthy of your love (you get 3 votes) 🪱 #BugOfTheYear #BugOfTheYear2026 🧪

Soil Critters: Illuminating a Hidden World Have you visited Frank Ashwood's website? We are obsessed with these photos! 🐜🐞https://www.frankashwood.com/macrophotography @frankashwood.bsky.social Can you ID this species in the comments? Send us your own photos to feature in our newsletter.

For the next couple of weeks, I'm championing noke waiū, the North Auckland Worm, for the Bug of the Year competition. Thanks to Toby Morris for this great little cartoon, which shows one reason I think you should give it your vote: it can grow up to 1.4 metres long!

Today 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 🧪

📢 Calling all earthworm enthusiasts! 🪱✨ One week to submit your abstract for the Earthworm Symposium happening 23–28 August 2026/Wageningen. 🗓️ Deadline: 31 January You love the 😍 earthworm photography by @frankashwood.bsky.social? Then come 🤩! More info and abstract submission: lnkd.in/ehGwc3ze

Pick 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."

New paper with many smart people, led by Nico Eisenhauer & Marie Sünemann @eisenhauerlab.bsky.social, surveying the state of literature on the effects of soil biodiversity on ecosystem functioning www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Meet the springtails: little-known fantastic beasts that live everywhere on Earth theconversation.com/meet-the-spr... Ping @frankashwood.bsky.social

Steven Hammer, one of our regular collection users, co-developed a new #insect pinning block, with staff and volunteers from the museum. It’s 3D-printed and open source, so you can try it for yourself: cults3d.com/en/3d-model/... #ECN2025

Has 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... 🧪🪱 bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-20...

Only 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: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/779567...

Wishing 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!

🪱 📢 Great news! The abstract submission deadline for ISEE13 has been extended - now January 31st, 2026. You can enjoy relaxed holidays 🎄✨ and return in the new year with fresh energy and even more enthusiasm for earthworms 🪱. We look forward to your contributions! event.wur.nl/isee13/home-...

Mite 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 🧪

There 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 🧪📸

Oops reposting with the tag! One of my students earlier this year was an absolute springtail stan. This is for you, Riley. #InsertAnInvert2024 in 2025

Happy 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 #WorldSoilDay

🚨 One month away from the end of the early-bird! Register now: globalsoilbiodiversity2026.org/registration/

⏰Don't miss this chance to showcase your research and chat with an incredible group of soil experts! Late-breaking poster submissions for #GSBC2026 are due on January 30, 2026! Submit your abstract here: globalsoilbiodiversity2026.org/abstract/

🌃 Night lights don’t just brighten the sky—they reshape earthworm communities and soil structure. Evidence shows that tailored management of artificial light at night, tuned to illuminance and spectrum can safeguard earthworm diversity and soil function 🪱 🌍 Read more: buff.ly/nu5sf87

🚨 Do you have a manuscript to submit? Please let us know by Nov 30.

The cover art is finished for my new book and I LOVE IT! This safari tour of the life in soil and what is means to us, is now available for pre-order as ebook, soft and hardcover in the UK and Commonwealth. Published in August next year (US date soon), I hope it'll entice everyone to love soil! 🧪🪱

Love soil? Great with communications? Join us as a communications representative - apply by 17 Nov!

We are happy to introduce the Soil Ecology SIG @britishecologicalsociety.org! Our aim is to connect soil ecology researchers across career stages, facilitating knowledge exchange and collaboration. Check out www.britishecologicalsociety.org/content/plan... and feel free to get in touch!

It's week 3 of fatherhood, and today I was granted special dispensation from shopping, housework, nappies & feeding, to do some macrophotography! The highlight was this Oribatid mite (N. spinulosa) sporting long defensive spines, which I've nicknamed the Hellraiser mite! #SoilBiodiversity 🧪

Today, I had a lot of fun at my daugther's elementary school, where I talked about the importance of healthy soils and the beauty of soil organisms (which is easy if one has the fantastic photos of @frankashwood.bsky.social). Next generation of soil scientists is secured I hope 👨‍🔬👩‍🔬

🎉 EXCITING BABY NEWS 🎉 I'm delighted to announce that I'm now a dad 🥰 We had a beautiful baby girl last Friday, named Elowyn. Mum and baby all doing really well, despite lack of sleep. Instead of her photo (privacy), here's a cute baby springtail 😊 #Macrophotography #SoilBiodiversity #Parenthood

Pleased to be part of this important letter led by @cmarin.bsky.social @thegsbi.bsky.social, calling for greater global action to protect soil biodiversity! A timely publication also because today is #WorldEarthwormDay 🌍🪱

This tiny jumping spider refused to surrender its hard-earned meal when faced with a camera lens, impressive! I finally managed to get out with the camera, now I'm on parental leave. We're still waiting for the little one to grace us with her presence, it could be any day now! #Macrophotography 🧪

My (slightly late) offering for day ten of #invertober (common earthworm) 🪱 Did you know earthworms have a special lip-like first head segment called a prostomium (meaning 'before the mouth')? They use it to sense and manipulate food, and move through soil! #SoilBiodiversity #Macrophotography 🧪

Day ten of #invertober Common Earthworm So cute, so cute! I have loved earthworms since I was a kid

#invertober day 10: common earth worm 🪱 (To be seen and adored) #art #collage #worm

A new special issue on soil & litter invertebrates is calling for submissions at NZ J Zool under this fabulous editorial team. See below for details!

Are you researching the conservation, ecology or taxonomy of soil & litter invertebrates? Submit your paper to this Special Issue of NZ Journal of Zoology, edited by me, @carlosbarreto.bsky.social & @barnesecodiv.bsky.social! More info: www.royalsociety.org.nz/news/nzjz-so... #SoilBiodiversity 🧪