• Outdoor Radio: Hunting for Invasive Jumping Worms

    UVM graduate student Maryam Nouri-Aiin shows us a jumping worm. © Kent McFarland

    Jumping worms, AKA crazy worms, jumpers or snake worms, are invasive earthworms recently found in Vermont. Currently there are three species of jumping worms introduced from Asia that appear to threaten northeastern hardwood forests: Amynthas agrestis, Amynthas tokioensis and Metaphire hilgendorfi. Jumping worms get their name from their behavior. When handled, they violently thrash, spring into the air and can even shed their tails to escape. In the forests of North America, these voracious feeders eat the organic layer on the surface of the forest floor, which hampers the growth of tree seedlings and many understory plants.

    Vermont was completely covered by glacial ice about 12,000 years ago, which removed any native earthworms which may have evolved with these forests. Today, earthworms found in the Northeast are mainly exotic species. Many were introduced in the 18th and 19th centuries via European settlers and soil and horticultural materials transported from Europe and Asia. New species are continuing to be introduced and spread across the landscape through fishing bait, compost and the horticulture industry.

    These introduced earthworms pose an ecosystem health threat to Vermont forests. They consume the organic top (duff) layers of soil, which causes cascading effects to native biodiversity. Duff is important for nutrient exchange networks involving fungi mycelium and plant roots. It is also where many seeds germinate. The change in forest floor structure reduces plant diversity and affects other species such as ground nesting birds, small mammals, invertebrates, and woodland salamanders.

    In this episode of Outdoor Radio, hosts Kent McFarland and Sara Zahendra are at the Green Mountain Audubon Center in Huntington, Vermont. They are joined by Mark Labarr, Conservation Program Manager for the Green Mountain Audubon Center, Dr. Josef Görres, from the Plant and Soil Science department at UVM and a graduate student studying the snake worm, Maryam Nouri-Aiin. Join them as they search the forest floor, in the rain, looking for invasive species of worms.

    Listen to the Show

    Learn More

    More Images from the Show

    Dr. Josef Görres, Sara Zahendra, Maryam Nouri-Aiin, Mark Labarr, and Kent McFarland (left to right) dripping rain after searching the forest floor for worms. © Chris Albertine

    Mark Labarr has a jumping worm in his hand he found under the leaf litter. © Kent McFarland

    Maryam Nouri-Aiin exposes the worm castings under the newly fallen leaves while searching for jumping worms. © Kent McFarland

    A closeup of the coffee ground like castings from the jumping worms scraped from the top of the soil. © Kent McFarland

    Outdoor Radio is produced in collaboration with Vermont Public Radio.

    More Posts from VCE

    Newer posts:
    Older posts:

    Comments (8)

    1. Virginia Leon says:

      Last week I found jumping worms in woods behind my home on Garbrooke Drive, in BENNINGTON, Vt. There is a large area of them. I have a flower and vegetable garden nearby which seems clear of these worms as of yesterday. I am reporting this here as the first place I found to do so.
      I have photos of the worms as well as a photo of the surrounding area. I need information where to report this in Vermont.

    2. Geri Patton says:

      I know I have these in my garden… I just thought they were crazy worms…will take pics tomorrow & report these…Hubbardton

    3. Tobiah S Schulman says:

      I am concerned about the impact these worms are likely having on the woods in Vermont. Is there anything we can do to control, or mitigate the effect of these worms once they are present?

    4. Cathy Hull says:

      Hi, I’m not sure how to add my 2nd encounter with a Jumping worm.
      1st we found one in our compost pile. Not realizing how invasive the are I threw it back into the weeds. I am now very sorry I did.
      Yesterday I found one in my vegetable garden and am very worried.
      I will now start drowning them in a bucket of water.
      Once dead can I then compost them?

    5. This is a report: On Sept. 11, 2023, I found invasive jumping worms in my outdoor uncovered compost pile, at 2306 Taplin Hill Road, Corinth, Vermont. I removed most of them. When will it be safe to use the compost in my gardens?

    Pingbacks (1)

    1. […] Join them as they search the forest floor, in the rain, looking for invasive species of worms.”  Link […]

    Leave a comment

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.