Wisconsin Ag Connection - 'Crazy Worm' Makes First Appearance in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Ag News Headlines

'Crazy Worm' Makes First Appearance in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 07/21/2014

Wisconsin's newest invasive species has done its best to stay underground, but the voracious, numerous and mysterious Asian crazy worm has emerged for the first time in the state on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The UW Arboretum, long a refuge for Wisconsin's native plants and animals, is the first confirmed site for Amynthas agrestis, an invasive worm believed to have arrived in the United States from its native range in Japan and the Korean Peninsula with plants imported for landscaping.

"Amynthas was listed as a prohibited species under Invasive Species Rule NR 40 since its adoption in 2009, because we knew their introduction into our state poses a huge threat to the future of our forests," says Bernie Williams, invasive species specialist in forest health at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Williams and members of the arboretum staff confirmed the earthworms' presence in the fall of 2013, checking regularly in the spring to see if the worm's egg cocoons survived a particularly harsh Wisconsin winter. That appears to be the case, according to Brad Herrick, arboretum ecologist and research program manager.

The grayish Amynthas is darker in color than pale, pinker European earthworms, grows to eight inches long, and has earned common names like crazy worm, snake worm and Alabama jumper by flopping and wriggling vigorously when handled.

The crazy worms mature in just 60 days or so, allowing populations to double during Wisconsin's warm months, and can reproduce without mating.

Williams and colleagues from the DNR and Department of Agriculture are inspecting commercial nurseries around the state.

Other Wisconsin Headlines