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Tom Astle

@tjalamont.bsky.social

30K followers 1.9K following 2.2K posts

Writer & nature photographer, especially macro photography of arthropods. Desert Tortoise conservation advocate. Fan of California, Montana, the rest of the planet. Photo website: https://www.tomastlephotography.com/

www.tomastlephotography.com

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 1h

Thanks for all the kind comments, everyone 🐾

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 1h

Thanks, Kris.

Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 1h

Thank you, Greta.

Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 21h

We said goodbye to Charlie, our 13-1/2 year old standard poodle, today. He was an amazing dog with a huge happy soul. He loved everyone and everydog he ever met (and loved our tortoises Eddie and Bob, too, although I'm not sure the feeling was reciprocated). We're pretty wrecked today.

A photo of a big fuzzy caramel-colored standard poodle named Charlie sniffing a desert tortoise named Eddie. They are on a tan tile floor. There's a painting of a snowy owl above the white brick fireplace in the background. Eddie has a purple flower stuck to his nose.

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 1d

The adults, especially adult females, have striking black bands and stripes. But I liked how this immature one was almost invisible on the sand

Reposted by Tom Astle

Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 1d

bugeric.blogspot.com/2025/10/what... #JaneGoodall #blogpost

What Would Jane Do?

If there was ever a person whom I wanted to remain immortal, it would probably be Dr. Jane Goodall. It was therefore devastating to learn of...

bugeric.blogspot.com

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 1d

Water flowing over rocks in the Mojave Desert early yesterday morning. This spot is usually dry this time of year, but a large storm a couple of weeks ago recharged things. (sound up)

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 1d

So sorry for your loss. The obituary describes such an amazingly multi-talented and giving person.

Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 1d

Prowling spider, Syspira sp., one of my favorite desert species. This one was barely 1/2 inch including leg span. Shot at 4.5X & a slight crop; nine shots stacked together to get the whole face in focus. I love how well camouflaged it is on the pale sand, like a little spider ghost. #Arachtober 🌿🐙👻🕷️

An extreme closeup photo, at ground level, looking into the face of a cream-colored spider on similarly-colored sand. The spider has sparse dark hairs and several longer spiny hairs, and dark eyes. All eight eyes are visible. Most of the legs are out of frame. There's a bit of crinkly silk in the lower left.

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 2d

I think it also has medically significant venom, although I don’t know how well it has been studied. There is a vanishingly small chance of being bitten by one - they live in areas with few people, and are, well, reclusive. I actively look for spiders and and have never been bitten by any spider.

Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 2d

She is - a lot more than you'd guess just looking with the naked eye. She was also very small, under half an inch leg span.

Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 2d

Went to the desert this morning because sometimes you need to touch sand. I found this pretty little spider, I think a desert recluse (Loxosceles deserta). I really like the pinstriping and subtle olive green in her legs and palps. Like all recluses, she has 6 eyes in 3 pairs. 🌿🐙 #Arachtober

A macro photo at ground level looking into the face of a spider atop a sandy-textured rock. The spider is pale orange with long orange-yellow legs that eventually transition to olive-green. She is a desert recluse spider, which you can tell because all recluse spiders have six eyes in three pairs. Only the legs on one side are visible, in the right part of the frame; the others are mostly out of frame and her body is center left.

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 3d

I definitely will!🦖

Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 3d

This is a wonderful thread! I think I'll have to do a version of it with one of my own favorite childhood dino books (which will definitely be from a decade more... prehistoric). 🦕

Sophie M. @sophiesaurus98.bsky.social · 4d

I’ve dug out my childhood copy of the “Simon and Schuster Children’s Guide to Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals” and am having a big nostalgia trip. In celebration of this wonderful book and Steve Kirk’s artwork, here’s a thread of odd ideas it gave me when I was a very young child. (1/17)

Cover of the book, with red text reading “Children’s Guide to Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals” on a plain, white background. Illustrations of various Mesozoic reptiles decorate the space surrounding the title. The author’s name, Philip Whitfield, is printed in black text below.

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 3d

Here is your Saturday Spider. It's a twig spider (maybe Ariamnes sp.?) in Madagascar, at night in the forest; it has captured another spider, which is the soccer-ball thing near its fangs. About 1 inch long. (I've shared this elsewhere before, but I think not here. Sorry, if so.) #Arachtober 🐙🌿

A photo of a spider called a twig spider, standing atop a straight, thin, dry twig, parallel to it, stretching in a level line left to right. The background is pure black. The spider has very long legs and an extremely elongated, twig-like abdomen. It has captured a smaller spider and has it wrapped up in a silk ball; two straight strands of silk are visible, one starting at the spinnerets and anchored to the twig, the other attached to the prey and leading left, out of frame.

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 4d

This is why you never name your sea monkeys

Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 5d

Have you ever seen a baby gar eating?

This little Spotted Gar is about a week old and has started feeding on zooplankton (in this case brine shrimp/Artemia/ aka "sea monkeys").

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 4d

American Pika having a think.
📷

A photo of an American Pika (a hamster-ish looking cute mammal that is actually not a rodent but a lagomorph, a relative of rabbits and hares) sitting on a pinkish granite boulder and looking off into the distance. The boulder is covered in almost black lichen. The pika is seen from behind and slightly to one side.

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 5d

I don't know if this particular species drums on the ground as part of courtship - although others in this genus certainly do.

Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 5d

There’s a restaurant in Santa Monica, CA called Solidarity that used to be called Warsawa - it had lots of amazing framed Polish posters from the era you mention. I haven’t been there in years, will have to go again soon!

Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 5d

A rice-grain-sized male jumping spider, I think Habronattus klauseri (Arizona). I have another shot that's more face-on, but I like this image because you can see the soft hair on the face under the eyes. I also like the low contrast background and his side-eye, about-to-jump pose. 🐙🌿 #Arachtober

A macro photo looking into the face of a jumping spider, with a background of mostly straw-colored vegetation and pale rock. The spider has green eyes set in a mask-like band of orange-brown hairs, with a band of short white hairs below the eyes. The legs have a dark background color with many cream-colored hairs, and the inside of the legs show olive-green and muted orange.

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 6d

That sounds uncomfortable! I've handled quite a few and luckily have never gotten bled on. But I have an entomologist friend who blistered her forearm with one on purpose, just to see what it would be like - then had me photograph the results!

Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 6d

Blister beetles (family Meloidae) can intentionally leak haemolymph ("bug blood") from joints if bothered, a behavior called reflex bleeding. Their blood contains cantharidin, a chemical which can blister skin. You can see a yellowish droplet here, at the middle leg joint. (Arizona) 🐙🌿

A closeup photo of a bright orange beetle with black spots and black eyes, perched atop a green stem with small green leaves at the apex.

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 6d

My grandmother bought Jane Goodall’s book “In the Shadow of Man” when it came out in 1971. Every week when our family came over for Sunday dinner, I’d pick up the book, starting where I’d left off the week before. It took me several Sundays to finish it. It changed how I see the world. RIP JG.

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 8d

This is my friend Krystle Hickman’s gorgeous new book, which arrived today. Krystle is one the best, most dedicated photographers I know and a real inspiration to me. She is self taught and passionate, and has documented several previously undocumented behaviors. Buy this book! 🐝🐙🌿📷#invertebrates

A book cover titled, “The ABCs of California Native Bees” by Krystle Hickman. The cover has three horizontal rectangles, each with a photo of a different native bee species.

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 8d

It’s a regular door, and if it’s not fully closed he absolutely shoves it open every time.

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