With jumping worms, the outcome is the opposite. Worm castings also improve soil structure by diversifying the size of soil particles, which enhances moisture penetration and increases water retention. They also remove the mulch that helps cool the soil and conserve moisture,įurther, the castings – or fecal material – of most worms contain extremely important microbes that help fight soil-borne plant diseases and repel insects. Their propensity to eat all the litter creates bare soil where invasive plants and animals move in, altering native ecosystems. With their voracious appetite, they outcompete the native microbial organisms and invertebrates that other organisms feed on. In contrast, the clitellum of common earthworms is raised rather than smooth and does not wrap entirely around the worm.īecause they have very large mouths akin to mechanical excavators, jumping worms are able to grasp and consume large amounts. They are smooth, glossy gray or brown and 1.5 to 8 inches long. A clear indication is the clitellum (band), which is milky white to gray-colored, smooth and completely encircles the body of the worm. Jumping worms, which are native to many parts of Asia, are easily identified by their violent thrashing, slithering and actual jumping in the air. Unlike beneficial earthworms and nightcrawlers that burrow deep tunnels in the soil, aerating and releasing nutrients as they go, jumping worms stay in the debris on top and eat two to three times the amount of leaf litter as the other worms, according to Sam Chan, Oregon State University Sea Grant Extension watershed health and aquatic invasive species specialist. – Jumping worms, a not-so-nice pest that arrived in the United States in the 1920s as fishing bait and as hitchhikers on imported plants and soils, have vaulted into gardens and nurseries up and down the Willamette Valley corridor.
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