Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
887 followers · 184 posts · Server flipping.rocks
Sometimes with macrophotography things just line up perfectly, as with this photo of a globular springtail (a female Stenacidia violacea) on some moss.
Have a great weekend everyone!
#SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #SoilBiota #Collembola #Springtail #SpringtailSaturday #Macrophotography #Mesofauna
#SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #soilbiota #Collembola #Springtail #springtailsaturday #Macrophotography #Mesofauna
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
886 followers · 183 posts · Server flipping.rocks
And finally, in another first for me, a predatory prostigmatid mite (Eupodidae sp.) running around on the water surface like that's no big thing! I certainly didn't know they could do that... did you?
#Mite #Acari #Mesofauna #Macrophotography #SoilBiodiversity
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
886 followers · 182 posts · Server flipping.rocks
Followed up with an adorable young male Deuterosminthurus pallipes (and it's the first time I've seen this species)!
#Collembola #Springtail #Macrophotography #Mesofauna #SoilBiodiversity
#Collembola #Springtail #Macrophotography #Mesofauna #SoilBiodiversity
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
886 followers · 181 posts · Server flipping.rocks
You don't always need to turn over a log or rock. Here's a thread of curious mesofauna I found on the surface of my pond this weekend!
First up are these incredibly sweet, bright purple Isotomurus palustris nymphs, plus an adult one at the end for good measure...
#Collembola #Springtail #Macrophotography #Mesofauna #SoilBiodiversity
#Collembola #Springtail #Macrophotography #Mesofauna #SoilBiodiversity
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
886 followers · 179 posts · Server flipping.rocks
A predatory mite (family Bdellidae) doing what it does best - feeding on a springtail. Having a mite skewer your head with its pointed chelicerae isn't the nicest way to go, but fascinating to observe!
#SoilFauna #SoilEcology #Mesofauna #SoilBiodiversity #Macrophotography #Acari #Collembola #Mite #Springtail
#SoilFauna #soilecology #Mesofauna #SoilBiodiversity #Macrophotography #Acari #Collembola #Mite #Springtail
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
886 followers · 180 posts · Server flipping.rocks
For #InternationalBiodiversityDay I'll look beyond the soil, and showcase the amazing water-living springtail Podura aquatica.
Their adaptations for a life on the water surface include a flattened jumping organ, hydrophobic cuticle, and depositing their spermatophores and eggs on water!
#Collembola #Springtail #Mesofauna #Macrophotography #Biodiversity #SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #SoilEcology
#internationalbiodiversityday #Collembola #Springtail #Mesofauna #Macrophotography #biodiversity #SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #soilecology
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
885 followers · 178 posts · Server flipping.rocks
Here's something you never see - a proturan's gut contents!
The jury is still out on what exactly these tiny (less than 1.5 mm long) soil invertebrates feed on - most likely decaying organic materials and fungal hyphae...
Have a tasty weekend, everyone!
#Macrophotography #SoilFauna #SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #SoilBiodiversity #Proturan #Mesofauna
#Macrophotography #SoilFauna #SoilBiodiversity #soilecology #proturan #Mesofauna
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
887 followers · 173 posts · Server flipping.rocks
I'm hoping it's better late than never for #InverteFest, with this photo of a beautiful globular springtail (Dicyrtomina saundersi)!
#SoilFauna #SoilEcology #SoilBiodiversity #Mesofauna #Springtail #SpringtailSunday #MacroPhotography #Collembola
#InverteFest #SoilFauna #soilecology #SoilBiodiversity #Mesofauna #Springtail #SpringtailSunday #Macrophotography #Collembola
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
872 followers · 172 posts · Server flipping.rocks
I don't take as many photos of 'elongate' springtails (Entomobryomorpha) as the other orders, so let's change that!
This lovely pale yellow little springtail is Entomobrya nivalis, and is so widespread across temperate and polar regions that, unlike most Collembola, it has a common name: The 'Cosmopolitan Springtail'!
#SoilFauna #SoilEcology #Mesofauna #Springtail #Collembola #MacroPhotography
#SoilFauna #soilecology #Mesofauna #Springtail #Collembola #Macrophotography
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
870 followers · 171 posts · Server flipping.rocks
A phthiracarid (oribatid) mite exploring its decaying log home 🥰
#SoilFauna #SoilEcology #SoilBiodiversity #Mesofauna #mite #Acari #MacroPhotography
#SoilFauna #soilecology #SoilBiodiversity #Mesofauna #Mite #Acari #Macrophotography
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
836 followers · 157 posts · Server flipping.rocks
This beautiful little creatures is a springtail known as Protaphorura aurantiaca - a fairly common British species which is found in decaying wood. Its striking yellow colour rapidly fades in alcohol, so normally I only see them as pale specimens under the microscope!
#SoilFauna #SoilEcology #Springtail #Mesofauna #MacroPhotography #Collembola
#SoilFauna #soilecology #Springtail #Mesofauna #Macrophotography #Collembola
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
832 followers · 152 posts · Server flipping.rocks
This little beauty is an Oribatid (Cepheus) mite nymph. Each ring of ornate scales on the mite's back are a previously moulted exoskeleton!
I've been trying to get a good photo of these for so long, and it turns out all I had to do was go looking around the research station grounds where I work.
#Mite #Oribatid #Acari #SoilFauna #MesoFauna #SoilEcology #SoilEcology #Macrophotgraphy
#Mite #oribatid #Acari #SoilFauna #Mesofauna #soilecology #macrophotgraphy
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
824 followers · 149 posts · Server flipping.rocks
Symphyla are tiny, fast-moving, unpigmented relatives of centipedes and millipedes, which feed on decaying organic matter and plant roots.
#SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #Myriapod #Symphyla #MacroPhotography #Mesofauna
#SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #Myriapod #symphyla #Macrophotography #Mesofauna
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
790 followers · 141 posts · Server flipping.rocks
I've been quite absent from here lately due to busy life stuff, but thanks for all the recent follows - here's a lovely little springtail (Neelus murinus) to say thanks!
Hopefully things will calm down again soon and I'll have more time to regularly post more photos on here.
#SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #SpringtailSaturday #Macrophotography #MesoFauna #Collembola #Springtail
#SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #springtailsaturday #Macrophotography #Mesofauna #Collembola #Springtail
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
706 followers · 103 posts · Server flipping.rocks
Here's an early Christmas present in the form of an early online publication!
Read about our work on "Earthworms and soil mesofauna as early bioindicators for landfill restoration" in the journal Soil Research, by heading over to: https://www.publish.csiro.au/SR/SR21286
Or if you don't have access just ping me a message for the PDF :blobgrimace:
#SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #Earthworm #MesoFauna #SoilFauna #Restoration #RestorationEcology #SoilResearch #Research #SoilScience
#SoilBiodiversity #soilecology #Earthworm #Mesofauna #SoilFauna #restoration #restorationecology #SoilResearch #research #soilscience
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
590 followers · 79 posts · Server flipping.rocks
Last week I finally found something I've always wanted to photograph - the incredible nymph of the oribatid mite genus Cepheus.
These little beauties retain their old exoskeletons on their back every time they moult, which then build up as protective ornamental rings! Each ring you see on its back here represents one moulting event.
#Mitestodon #DailyMitePic #MesoFauna #SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #SoilFauna #MacroPhotography
#Mitestodon #DailyMitePic #Mesofauna #SoilBiodiversity #soilecology #SoilFauna #Macrophotography
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
583 followers · 76 posts · Server flipping.rocks
A bit of excitement in the lab today, with this unusual springtail in a woodland soil sample - Katiannidae Genus nov 2 species nov!
This species is thought to have been introduced to the UK from Australasia via the horticultural trade.
#Springtail #Collembola #SoilFauna #SoilEcology #SoilBiodiversity #MesoFauna
#Springtail #Collembola #SoilFauna #soilecology #SoilBiodiversity #Mesofauna
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
583 followers · 76 posts · Server flipping.rocks
It's #MiteMonday!
Here's an adorable (unless you're a springtail) snout mite (Bdellidae). These active predators are constantly running around on logs, stones and the soil surface looking for prey to puncture with their piercing mouthparts.
#Mitestodon #DailyMitePic #bugstodon #SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #SoilFauna #MesoFauna #Mite #Acari #MacroPhotography #macro
#MiteMonday #Mitestodon #DailyMitePic #bugstodon #SoilBiodiversity #soilecology #SoilFauna #Mesofauna #Mite #Acari #Macrophotography #macro
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
583 followers · 76 posts · Server flipping.rocks
There are few soil organisms more wonderful than Pseudoscorpions, it's always a joy to find one when I'm out with my camera!
This stout little murder machine is a compost chernes (Pselaphochernes scorpioides), found on decaying leaves in an open compost heap.
#MacroPhotography #SoilFauna #Pseudoscorpion #Arachnid #MesoFauna #SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology
#Macrophotography #SoilFauna #Pseudoscorpion #arachnid #Mesofauna #SoilBiodiversity #soilecology
Frank Ashwood · @frankashwood
315 followers · 33 posts · Server flipping.rocks
It seems appropriate to share this adorable little springtail poised to leap, as I prepare to launch off to Vancouver, Canada tomorrow for #EntSoc22.
Looking forward to sharing my macrophotography journey in the session "What Lies Beneath? The Art and Science of Soil Arthropods" More info: https://cdmcd.co/abnzEn
Hope to see some of you there!
#SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #Collembola #Springtail #Mesofauna #Macrophotography #Nature #SciComm #SoilEcology #NaturePhotography
#EntSoc22 #SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #Collembola #Springtail #Mesofauna #Macrophotography #nature #scicomm #soilecology #naturephotography