🎉 TASMANIAN VELVET WORMS AND AN EXCERPT FROM MY BOOK! 🎉

This stunning creature is a velvet worm, which I recently saw in Tasmania. I attempted the difficult task of describing these wonderful animals in the epilogue of my book (see the last photo)... Would you describe them differently? If so, how?

Stay tuned for more macrophotography and book excerpts, and I'm also considering running a giveaway for a signed copy of the hardback!

#booksbooksbooks #bookish #bookworm #Nonfiction #Nature #NatureBook #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #entomology

Hello fine people of Mastodon!

I'm Frank: a soil ecologist, popular-science author, nature macrophotographer, university lecturer and science communicator (and exhausterwhelmed new father). Through my research and outreach, I'm determined to raise awareness of the tiny organisms that keep our soils (and our world) working!

Make sure you've tapped the follow button if you want to learn more about:

🪱 Life in soil
📸 Nature macrophotography
🎙️ Science communication
📚 My debut (award-winning) scientific nonfiction book 'The World Beneath our Feet'

Still reading this? You're my kind of person!

#Introduction #AboutMe #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #Nature #SoilBiodiversity #Entomology

As a reward for putting up with all my book promotion, please feast your eyes upon this smörgåsbord of Tasmanian 'dragon' springtails!

These outrageous creatures are related to the New Zealand giant springtails that I've been utterly obsessed with for the past three years. I'm so pleased that I got the opportunity to visit Hobart at the weekend to go on a dragon hunt!

That's not all I saw, however: I'll be adding more photos very soon, including fluffy mites and Tasmanian velvet worms 😮

#Macrophotography #SoilBiodiversity #Entomology #Nature #NaturePhotography #Soil #SoilEcology #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet

A lovely photo-led review of The World Beneath Our Feet in this week's @NewScientist.

Read it online here: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2587314-take-a-stunning-microscopic-safari-into-the-hidden-world-of-soil/

#NewScientist #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #Nature #NatureBook #SciComm #Science #Soil #SoilBiodiversity

IT’S PUBLICATION DAY!! (UK)

How better to spend it than at an earthworm research conference 🪱

I’m so excited to see this labour of love finally out in the world, and I really hope you enjoy it. With any luck, my infectious love for soil biodiversity will pass on to those who browse its pages. A huge thank you to everyone who has already supported the book through preorders!

If you’re in the UK and Commonwealth, THE WORLD BENEATH OUR FEET is in a bookshop near you now! Coming very soon to North America and across the EU 🥰

#TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #author #Nature #soil #SoilBiodiversity

Six years ago, I bought my first second-hand camera and lens, and gave macrophotography a try. I had no idea that it would change my life, that my photos would be exhibited and used in media around the world and even eventually lead to me becoming an author!

This week, I find myself back in the location where it all started, and feeling very nostalgic. So, I thought why not take some new photos and see how they compare to my earliest shots! What differences do you see, except that they're slightly different species?

#Macrophotography #SoilBiodiversity #Nature #Entomology #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet

Less than 3 weeks to go until the UK release of my debut book THE WORLD BENEATH OUR FEET! And only a month later, it'll hit bookshops across the US and Canada 🥰

There's still time to reserve your own copy of the hardcover (preorders are super important!), so you can enjoy it on the day of release! And if you're coming to one of my UK events, I'll very happily sign your copy.

I can't stop looking at my early copies, they're just so pretty. Though I can't claim the credit for the book's exquisite presentation: the production team at Hodder Press have given everything to this - generously using gold foil to further accent the stunning cover art by Holly Ovenden. They even accommodated my last-minute request to use an earthworm illustration by the wonderful Morgane Merien for each chapter's section breaks!

Reserve your copy today, and come join me on an awe-inspiring journey into the mysterious world of soil!

#TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #Science #Nature #NatureBook #booksbooksbooks #Soil #SoilBiodiversity #Author

I recently gave a NerdNite talk about the weird and wonderful ways soil animals survive the challenges of life, and their complex (and sometimes quite romantic) love lives. I had an absolute blast, and the recording is now live on YouTube!

Warning: this was an evening talk in a pub setting, so it has some adult humour and might not be for everyone. But, if you can stomach talk about slugs chewing off their own penises, and mites constructing 'love gardens' out of their own semen, then this talk is for you!

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTIGtBXEfx4

#SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #Nature #ScienceCommunication #SciComm #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #NerdNite #Science

The cosmopolitan 'moss' springtail (Neanura muscorum) navigating a miniature forest of fungi on a decaying log. But it isn't alone — all those transparent blobs on its body are in fact curled-up, hitchhiking nematode worms (you can see these better in the second photo)!

Much like the baby mite in my last post, these tiny worms are using a larger animal to help them disperse to new environments. It's thought that this 'phoretic' behaviour might be a stepping stone in how parasitism evolved in some nematodes.

Read all about the incredible ways soil animals have adapted to the challenges of life, in my upcoming book #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet, which lands just one month from now!

#SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #Nature #Entomology #Soil

This adorable little creature is one of New Zealand's endemic giant springtails, but it's not just ANY giant springtail...

I first discovered this springtail population two years ago, living up in the few remaining patches of native forest in the Port Hills of Christchurch. This put them on the map - nobody had ever seen them near the city before, so it was a wonderful surprise to find them there!

They appear a lot smaller than other members of their species that I've found elsewhere, making me wonder if they're undergoing a form of island dwarfism in the small, fragmented areas of bush. Maybe these ones aren't so 'giant' after all...

#TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #SoilBiodiversity #Entomology #SoilFauna #Macrophotography

Did you know that the European mole (Talpa europaea) has a toxin in its saliva which paralyses earthworms, their favourite food? The moles may then store the paralysed earthworms in special 'larder' chambers within their burrows, where they are kept alive and fresh until later consumption. These larders have been reported to contain many hundreds of earthworms at a time!

When it's time to visit their pantry for a snack, these moles have a clever trick to make sure they don't consume all the unpleasant soil stuck inside the paralysed earthworm's guts... by rolling the earthworm between their powerful front paws, they forceably squeeze the soil out of the worm, making their meal much less gritty!

#SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #MacroFauna #Nature #MacroPhotography #NaturePhotography

Did someone bury a tiny lemon?

Nope, this is an earthworm cocoon!

After mating, both earthworms will produce a cocoon like this (they're hermaphrodites), containing a fertilised egg. Inside, a baby earthworm will grow, before hatching out the end like a tiny pink noodle. Inside the cocoons, wormlings are protected from drought, flooding and low oxygen conditions, and will hatch when conditions are good again!

#Soil #SoilEcology #SoilBiodiversity #Earthworm #Macrophotography #Nature #NaturePhotography #Entomology

I’ve been gaining some new followers recently, so it’s time for a reintroduction!

I’m a scientist and macrophotographer, fascinated by all the amazing creatures that live in the soil! I use my photography and media appearances to do science communication on soil biodiversity, to spread awareness and love for the world beneath our feet. Oh, and I’ve got a major book deal to write a popular science book on this subject, which I’m extremely excited about!

Follow my page for interesting soil animal facts, macrophotography and updates!

#Introduction #Macrophotography #SoilBiodiversity #Entomology #Nature #NaturePhotography #SoilScience #ScienceCommunication