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

The Final Report from the parliamentary roundtable on how soil-centric policy could bring about the aims of the Climate and Nature Bill is out. To view the report and find out more about the event, head to our site: bit.ly/RTFinalReport #ClimateandNatureBill #SoilHealth

My latest blog post on Podura aquatica, the water springtail is finally done! Check it out below…

Podura aquatica: Springtail of the month - A Chaos of Delight

Across the world, living invisibly on standing pools of water, lives Podura aquatica , a highly unusual specialised and entirely wonderful semi-aquatic springtail.

chaosofdelight.org

I haven’t been out taking photos recently- flooding hasn’t helped. But hopefully I can start again next week. In the meantime, here is my latest blog post, my musings on Tourette Syndrome and the amazing film ’I Swear’… www.chaosofdelight.org/blog/hiding-...

Hiding in plain sight: My life of masking, tics and Tourette Syndrome - A Chaos of Delight

The film, I Swear explores the life of John Davidson, living with Tourette Syndrome. It stirred up a lot of emotions and memories for me and inspired me to write down my own experiences about living...

chaosofdelight.org

Here is my latest blog post for WSD 2025- healthy soils for healthy cities…

Exploring the concrete jungle: Urban soil animals and World Soil Day - A Chaos of Delight

Discover the remarkable and beautiful tiny soil animals surviving and thriving in our urban landscapes, this World Soil Day.

chaosofdelight.org

Happy World Soil Day!

A lovely Dicyrtoma fusca var. 1 sitting on a mushroom with a whole load of guttation.

I haven’t been posting on here very much recently, but thought I’d post this photo of a Dicyrtoma fusca springtail. What a beauty…

As of last week it started to rain, finally, so I’m back! I went out today and found this Tetranychus species of spider mite, complete with webbing, which you can just make out in the background. A stunningly beautiful colour. I can still take photos, which is a relief. #mite #spidermite

Vote Giant Springtail! There are only a few days left to vote giant springtail in the New Zealand Bug of the Year competition- the only soil animal in the competition. Look at his little face! #bugoftheyear #springtail bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-20...

An old photo of a larval Phronia species of fungus gnat. I love it- it looks so like a koala, cute fly larvae are the way forwards… #cute #diptera #mycetophilidae

Another day, another Dicyrtomina saundersi, and one of the easiest springtails to photograph. While they're not often as robustly coloured as D. ornata, they do look rather similar, apart from the barred pattern on their rumps, which D. ornata don't have. #springtail #macro #soil #soilanimal

This is a lovely Mycetophilidae (fungus gnat) larva I photographed yesterday in a very wet woodland in South Somerset, UK. We have had severe flooding in the area again this winter. Endless, it seems and not great for macro photography. However, some larval genera of fungus gnat love it… #macro

Not long to go now. The New Zealand bug of the year voting has a few weeks left. So far, this amazing springtail, Holacanthella is doing really well. If you haven’t voted- if you could that would be great (just vote once, for Holacanthella!) bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-20...

#Flies #Diptera Coming up to five years since the publication of 'Arthropedia: an illustrated alphabet of invertebrates'. Three years work in the making and some fabulous invertebrates found while doing so.

We're halfway through the Bug of the Year '25 contest, and the Giant Springtail is still in the lead! BUT there's still four weeks of voting left, so get on it! Vote here, and please share with your friends and family: bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-20... #TeamGiantSpringtail #Invertebrate 🧪

Ironic and sadly apposite that blue Monday falls today of all days. No words really, just thankful there’s a kinder place to be, away from the whirlwind, where good things can still grow. I’ve been following a lot of writers and poets today on here, and I can really recommend it.

pheraedia pumilis is a tiny, 0.5mm springtail, not often photographed. It has a really distinctive shape- hence its Latin name. They’re really common on lawns so can be a fun one to find in winter, under fallen leaves… #springtail #soil

Another reminder to vote in NZ bug of the year. It just has to be the giant springtail, Holacanthella. No ifs, no buts. Raising awareness for these amazing animals is super important. Here is the link… bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-20...

I’ve decided for no reason, that Tuesday should be ‘make a mite your mate’ day. So here is a photo of Euzetes globulus, a very common oribatid mite. Can’t believe some people hate them. They’re amazing. #mite #soil #soilanimal #uk

Happy Saturday to everyone. Here is a lovely and super-friendly Dicyrtoma fusca… #springtail #collembola #soil #soilanimal #macro #macrophotography

Linking to my previous post, this is one of my favourite photos- nematodes in nictation- a stage of development when some nematodes raise up and attach themselves to a host (phoresy) to travel to other locations. Very cool to photograph. #nematode #macro #soil

Ah, nematodes. This is a free living nematode, which are a little larger than other nematodes, meaning that they are possible to photograph with my camera. #nematode #soil #macro #macrophotography

In case you missed it; check out the first video on Life in the Soil, dealing with the biodiversity inhabiting this substrate. The third video will go live later this week, on Thursday! youtu.be/qtd_TeBYy8s

Life in the soil: the secrets of soil biodiversity

YouTube video by Life in the Soil

youtu.be

This is such a stunning animal- a very common Novakatianna species of springtail from New Zealand and a species that I always try to photograph when I see it. #springtail #collembola #newzealand #cute #soil #soilanimal

So, it’s about time everyone got behind the bug of the year 2025 contest as Holacanthella is nominated as one of the ‘bugs’ and to see a springtail winning would be beyond awesome. So please please please follow this link for more info… www.frankashwood.com/boty2025

Happy 2025 to everyone. I’ve finally written a ‘how to’ guide to extreme macro photography on my website blog… all you ever wanted to know about taking extreme macro photographs! #macro #macrophotography #extrememacro #springtail #chaosofdelight

How to photograph springtails: the secrets of extreme macro - A Chaos of Delight

I often get asked about how to take decent photos of springtails and all the other tiny mesofauna. So here is a general breakdown of what I've learned, the mistakes I’ve made, and the tricks and tech...

chaosofdelight.org

Happy New Years Eve, or New Years Day to all, depending where you are. Here’s to 2025 and soil animals and their allies everywhere. We all know it’s going to be hard, so us science nerds must at least stick together for sanity. I’m glad Bluesky happened. Let’s hope this kind space continues.

In the UK, we have one eurypauropod, Trachypauropus britannicus, a sclerotised and flattened type of pauropod. Pauropods are a sister group of the millipedes and centipedes, and are cute, tiny and have bifurcated antennae, unique for any animal with antennae. #soil #cute #mesofauna #soilanimal

This beauty is Ptenothrix atra, a rare UK springtail that I luckily found in some woodland on the Cleveland way in North Yorkshire a couple of days ago. Very happy to have seen this species again… #springtail #collembola #macro #macrophotography #yorkshire #soil #soilanimal