New England Diary

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Those jumping worms

Jumping worms

-- Photo by Njh5880

Excerpted from an ecoRI News article

CRANSTON, R.I.

“An infestation of jumping worms, also known as snake worms, has forced the Rhode Island Wild Plant Society to cancel its August native plant sale.

Pat Foley, president of RIWPS, wrote in an email, ‘We have decided to cancel our upcoming native plant sale. Based on conversations I had this week with the volunteers planning the sale, we learned that invasive ‘jumping worms’ were discovered in some of the plant trays we were readying for the sale.’

“Even though the invasive worms look similar to the region’s more common earthworm, their behavior easily identifies them. They slither through the grass like snakes and jump away if they are disturbed. In their native Korea and Japan, they are called Asian jumping worms.’’

Here’s the whole article.