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, so please go bag yourself a copy! Now I just have to decide the shortlist of my photographs to go into it...
#Soil #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #SoilBiodiversity #Author #NatureBooks
Some exciting life news... I am now a lecturer in Entomology and Ecology at Lincoln University in New Zealand!
We took the Entomology students on a fieldtrip over the weekend, and saw some of my favourite invertebrates: Velvet worms (Ooperipatellus) and giant springtails (Holacanthella)! Always a joy to see these incredible creatures.
#Entomology #SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #Ento #Macrophotography #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet
If you go down to the woods today, you might see a GIANT EARTHWORM! 🪱
In New Zealand it’s time for the second round of the global soil biodiversity monitoring project ‘SoilBON’, and some incredible native earthworms turned up during fieldwork yesterday!
#SoilBiodiversity #WormWednesday #Soil #Earthworm #Nature #Entomology
Today is my final day of book writing, then it's off to the copyeditor and out of my hands!
It's been a true labour of love, and I'm feeling very bittersweet. How better to cross the finish line than with a coffee in this mite-y good mug by Svenja Meyer
(https://smartwork.bigcartel.com/)
#Nature #Soil #SoilBiodiversity #BookLover #Author #AuthorLife #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet
Welp. 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, you’ll know why!
The US publication date has now been announced as 1st September 2026, and it’s available now for US preorder! All the links can be found on the book’s Penguin Random House webpage: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/779567/the-world-beneath-our-feet-by-frank-ashwood/
#NatureBooks #SciComm #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #Soil #SoilBiodiversity
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 crazy year. I'm looking forward to seeing my new book 'The World Beneath Our Feet' hit the shelves in August/September 2026... Let's make next year a big one for appreciating and protecting soil biodiversity!
#SoilBiodiversity #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #SeasonsGreetings #HappyHoliday #HappyNewYear
Today Andy Murray (the macrophotographer) shared a magnificent photo on Instagram of the only species of 'mite' harvester (Cyphophthalmi) ever found in the UK. Here's one from New Zealand - can you spot the difference?
Cyphophthalmi are bizzare, and really interesting from a biogeography perspective: each of the six currently recognized families has a distinct distribution, which reflect plate tectonics and ancient landmasses.
The species here in Aotearoa (and Australia, South Africa and South America) are in the family Pettalidaea, a completely different family to those in Europe and North America (the Sironidae). These families can be traced back to the breakup of Pangea into the two ancient landmasses of Gondwana and Laurasia during the late Triassic period some 200ish million years ago! It's incredible that the history of the earth can be partly told through the distribution of these unassuming little weirdoes.
#SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #Entomology #Acarology #Soil #Nature #MacroPhotography #TheWorldBeneatOurFeet
There are few soil animals as adorable as springtails!
This Platunurida sp. is a cousin of the famous 'giant' springtails in New Zealand. Instead of colourful spines, it has a flattened body, so it can squeeze into cracks in decaying logs, where it lives. They're surprisingly fast at escaping into the cracks, so it's difficult to get a good photo of them!
#Entomology #Macrophotography #SoilBiodiversity #Nature #SoilFauna #NaturePhotography #Soil #SoilEcology #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet
Happy World Soils Day!!
To me every day is soils day, but globally we mark 5th December as a day to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for soil sustainability.
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?
Frank Ashwood
andresrguez