Gail Ashton
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gailashton.bsky.social
Gail Ashton
@gailashton.bsky.social
bug lover / nature nerd
photographer / author / illustrator
www.gailashton.co.uk

Books available here:
https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/gail-ashton-nature
New work from my Master’s research project, ‘The Alder’.

The Common Alder is home to a huge number of invertebrate species, including beetles, sawflies, leaf miners and at least 50 moths. Some of these species can be seen in the feeding signs on leaves.

#CommonAlder
#tree
#ecologies
September 27, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Saw this queen toda 💛🤍🖤

Wasp Spider (Argiope bruennechi)
#HertsSpiders
August 16, 2025 at 3:44 PM
It’s one of those evenings when you feel like you’ve accidentally walked onto a film set.
#sunset
August 14, 2025 at 6:40 AM
Summer evenings don’t get much better than watching a Barn Owl hunting at sunset
💚💚💚
June 19, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Summer 💙💚💛
June 12, 2025 at 6:58 PM
I don’t know what this type of cloud is called, but it’s a cracker.
May 14, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Queen of queens 💚
May 11, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Finding a little joy in the unexpected things.
May 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Pear blossom is the gift that keeps on giving 💚
April 18, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Making sun prints in situ.
#Cyanotype
March 30, 2025 at 1:56 PM
“Live in the moment,
humans are often told,
but snails don’t need to
be told. We’re in the moment
all the time, and the
moment is in us.”

Margaret Atwood: Old Babes in the Wood
March 13, 2025 at 8:39 AM
As you know I am a very casual birder at best, but my first Great White Egret at @suffolkwildlife.bsky.social Carlton Marshes today was a bit special. Can you spot it?
March 12, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Close encounters with cave spiders in the Peak District today. Meta menardi is a scarce and highly specialised spider that lives close to the entrance of caves. The egg sacs are beautiful, silken teardrops that suspend from the ceiling and ledges.

#CaveSpider
#MetaMenardi
#spider
#PeakDistrict
March 9, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Marram grass appreciation post.

• Stabiliser of cliffs and dune systems.
• Safe harbour for invertebrates, birds, reptiles and mammals.
• Harvested to make fishing nets, house roofs and even shoes.
• Looks, sounds and feels amazing.

#marram
#grass
#coast
#nature
March 6, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Spring spring spring spring
spring spring spring.

Black Oil Beetle out in the late February sunshine.

#MeloeProscarabaeus
#BlackOilBeetle
#BeetlesOfBluesky
February 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
My first cherry plum blossom of the year, in Bedfordshire today.

#wildflowerhour
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social
February 9, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Happy Imbolc you lovely people of Bluesky.
In the Pagan calendar, Imbolc celebrates the halfway point between Winter solstice (Yule) and the Spring equinox (Ostara) in the Northern hemisphere, as tiny daily increments of increasing daylight pull us out of the long dark.
February 2, 2025 at 9:00 AM
January artifacts. 🍂 🧊
January 26, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Early morning moonset accompanying us as we journey into the west. 🌙
January 25, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Here are some images from my new photographic project, ‘Entomoscapes’. It is art of my MA in Photography at @falmouthuniversity.bsky.social, which aims to explore the human-insect relationship.

View the full project here: www.gailashton.co.uk/entomoscapes

#Masters #Photography #Insects
January 13, 2025 at 8:18 AM
New product alert! Head over to BugTees, my online store, to see the new Inverted Stag Beetle oversize tee, and new colours for the Undertaker Beetle too!
bugtees.teemill.com

#beetle
#entoart
January 10, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Ladybirds are resilient little beasts. This Seven-spot was hanging out in 3°C today.

#ladybird
#winter
#nature
January 8, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Last night’s snow is tonight’s saturated ground and the earthworms are out in force, scavenging on the surface and leaving their large, nutrient-rich casts behind.
January 5, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Who knows what this year has in store, but randomly finding this little beauty on my bed this morning felt like a good sign.

Happy 2025 to you all x
January 1, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Suffolk, this morning.

#Sunrise
#FirstBirdofMyDay
December 2, 2024 at 10:26 AM