Frank Ashwood's avatar

Frank Ashwood

@frankashwood.bsky.social

900 followers 195 following 287 posts

Soil Ecologist & Macrophotographer | 14,000 earthworms in a trenchcoat 🪱| Mastodon: @frankashwood@flippingrocks | Threads: @frank.ashwood@threads.net. | Personal website: www.frankashwood.com | He/Him

Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Nature can be rather disturbing at times, but amazing too!

Here are a couple of examples of entomopathogenic fungi I've seen across New Zealand - that's fungi which infect and kill invertebrates (yep, 'The Last of Us' style).

Can you tell what the unfortunate hosts were?

#Entomology 🧪

3 replies 35 reposts 108 likes

Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Absolutely delighted that one of my photos picked up 'Specially Commended' in the @royentsoc.bsky.social 2023 Photo Competition!

Congratulations to everyone else who picked up wins in this year's competition. Let's support #insectweek & show some love for the little creatures that run this world! 🧪

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Oribatid mites such as this Damaeidae species are mostly detritivores or fungivores, playing an important role in regulating the breakdown of dead plant material.

Because of their diets, they’re particularly abundant & diverse in litter-rich forest soils and decaying wood! 🧪

#SoilBiodiversity

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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I'm glad someone has the guts to ask the hard questions! I think I'd portmanteau it into barsenacle though...

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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*NEW PAPER ALERT*

Do the public and scientists look for earthworms in different places? Do they therefore find different species? Are 'rare' earthworm species really just living in overlooked habitats?

YES to all of the above! Find out more (open access):

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Alright, let’s see how this goes! Good luck to everyone submitting photos to CUPOTY this year! 🍀

#MacroPhotography

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Albeit the UK school experience, not NZ!

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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For me it would probably be 'Of Mice and Men' and 'An Inspector Calls' - truly ruined by the school experience!

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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You're probably familiar with termites, but have you ever heard of 'Nasute' termites? They are most recognisable by the soldier caste, which have a horn-like head projection called a 'Fontanellar gun'. From this they can forcefully shoot gluey, terpene-rich chemicals at their enemies! 🧪

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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If you like horror, I heartily recommend coming along to the monthly 'Tuesday Terrors' book club at Turanga library. We do exactly this - everyone picks their own book according to that month's common theme, and talks about the good and bad. I've found some great new reads through it!

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Here's a type of springtail you don't often see, because they're absolutely TINY - only about 0.5 mm big! The order Neelipleona contains the world's smallest springtail species, which generally live in caves, soil & litter. This is Megalothorax incertus, one of NZ's three known Neelidae species! 🧪

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Did you know, there's earthworms that aren't truly 'earth' worms, because they LIVE UP IN TREES!! 🌳🪱 Here's a European 'corticolous' (tree-living) species, Dendrobaena attemsi. They can be found in organic pockets up in canopies, which they reach by using little spines on their bodies to climb! 🧪

1 replies 20 reposts 68 likes

Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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I then pushed the TG-7 to the very limit of its focal range, with this tiny Oribatid mite nymph (about 2mm size). An impressive level of detail captured (second image)! In summary: you might not win Wildlife Photographer of the Year with one, but I am very pleasantly surprised with the TG-7 so far!

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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The main stumbling point for me during this first outing with the TG-7 is getting used to an autofocus during macro (I shoot exclusively using manual focus), and also the shadowing created by the clip-on flash ring accessory. More practice needed, but again, not too bad given the price difference!

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Obviously it's not fair to compare the two cameras directly, given the massive price difference between the two setups. However, I would say that whilst the aesthetic impact might be a little limited with the TG-7, it definitely captures enough detail for a decent biological record macro photo!

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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I forked out for an Olympus TG-7 tough camera as a grab-and-go option for times when I can't take my normal macro kit.

The question is, how does the macro on the TG-7 compare to my Nikon D850/Laowa lens setup?

Well, I took it for a spin at the weekend, so let's find out...

#Macrophotography

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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!! SPRINGTAIL CUTENESS OVERLOAD !!

Here's more globular springtails than you can shake a blade of grass at! Enjoy!

#Macrophotography 🧪

1 replies 7 reposts 37 likes

Reposted by Frank Ashwood

Mike Dickison's avatar Mike Dickison @adzebill.bsky.social
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Pleased to announce that my West Coast Wikipedian at Large project with Development West Coast won Gold and Silver awards at the 2024 PRINZ Awards and was one of six finalist for the top prize. prinz.org.nz/2024-prinz-a...

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Thanks! And bravo 👏 for putting my all time favourite Adventure Time quote into your bio!

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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In macrophotography, one of the key tricks is to get the eyes of your subject in focus... But what do you do when the subject doesn't have eyes? You just aim for whatever they have instead! For example, this Oribatid mite's head has 'trichobothria' - pits with a thick sensory hair poking out. 🧪

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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A reminder that New Zealand and other land masses in the south-west Pacific are home to LEAF-VEINED SLUGS! Unlike their omnivorous European relatives, these slugs eat only fungi. They breathe mainly through the skin of the back, which is kept moist by secretions passing along the many grooves. 🧪

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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I was just sent this photo of when I first started doing macrophotography - exactly 4 years ago!

Here's my first ever macro photo of a snout mite, compared to a recent one. It's reassuring to see how my skills and kit have developed!

I'd love to see your 'then' & 'now' photos!

#macrophotography🧪

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Whoop whoop! Thanks, I’m very excited to be writing it 😊

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Thanks Franz! I’ll need to see if I can squeeze a crab in there somehow…

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Sometimes I really do wish Bluesky allowed a greater character limit for skeets! Side question - are we still calling posts on here skeets?

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Delighted for my photos to feature in @nytimes.com writeup of this* recent research paper! 🧪

www.nytimes.com/2024/05/24/c...

*Martin, P. A., et al. (2024). Meta-analysis reveals that the effects of precipitation change on soil and litter fauna in forests depend on body size. Global Change Biology.

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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I can finally announce it... I'm writing a book!!

Buckle in for a safari through the soil - meeting all the wondrous creatures that keep our world ticking over.

I can't believe how lucky I am to be working with such an amazing editorial team, so exciting! 🧪

www.thebookseller.com/rights/hodde...

8 replies 11 reposts 61 likes

Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Nice to see the recent Christchurch City Nature Challenge and my Macrophotography covered in Western News, NZ. Some well-deserved credit for the organising team in this article, including Rob Cruickshank, who did an amazing job of engaging with the local community 🧪

www.yumpu.com/en/document/...

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Got it right here, safe and sound - phew!

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Not really sure what to give you here, but… good luck?

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Technically they are crustaceans, but they are most closely related to insects rather than things like woodlice (insects are also technically crustaceans 🤯). Like insects, springtails are hexapods, which means they have six legs.

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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hehe, good question! They're small little animals (like the one in the photo), which are related to insects and live in/on the soil. They're super important for eating and recycling decaying plant material and they also help regulate fungi populations by eating them 🙂

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Do you love Springtail Saturday, but feel it's always over too soon?

Dry your eyes, my friend.

They said it couldn't be done.

They said that dedicating more than one day a week to springtails was impossible, merely the arrogant pipe-dream of a madman.

But, guess what?

It's #SpringtailSunday 🧪

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Let's start the weekend off the right way, by observing
#SpringtailSaturday with this lovely Lepidocyrtus moorei!

The name 'Lepidocyrtus' stems from Greek 'lepis' meaning 'scale' and 'kyrtos' meaning 'convex' - referring to the thousands of beautiful iridescent scales covering its body! 🧪

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Reposted by Frank Ashwood

Emily's avatar Emily @emilyliu.me
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hi scientists 🧪 i'd love to hear your thoughts on bluesky! • what groups/people in science aren't here yet, that you want to see? • what can bluesky do to make it a better place for science comms? • what external tools do you use that should integrate bluesky support? • anything else!

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Frank Ashwood's avatar Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social
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Why I love soil ecology - where else on Earth would you find something so bizarre as this? Ptyctimous mites like this are the ultimate tanks of the mite world, capable of retracting their legs back into their heavily-armoured body, so there's nothing exposed for predators to nibble! 🧪

1 replies 5 reposts 27 likes