Wow, that's a big worm! This specimen was found 'worming' through the grass between the arboretum shed and Mickle Hall. At first glance, it appeared to be a small snake. Now, would you prefer to see a foot long earthworm or a foot long snake?
How many of these fellows are tunneling below our feet, all day long? We come across numerous worms while digging around in the arboretum. Funnily enough, most of the earthworms we see in the United States are invasive, having come over recently from Europe or Asia. Only a few places in the USA have native earthworms.
Earthworms fall into three major categories: surface-dwellers, soil-dwellers, and a mixed type that lives underground but comes up to feed. Fishermen will be familiar with the humongous night crawler (Lumbricus terrestris) and the red wiggler (Eisenia fetida), both of which are typically used for bait. Beyond that, the standard "earthworm" can be a variety of species that are almost impossible for the layman to identify. However, you can easily find out if they jump. If so, you've probably got an undesirable invasive on your hands.
Unfortunately, according to the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota, worms stir the soil and consume leaf litter, which is good for your garden, but bad for forests, as this activity can change native ecologies for the worse. The moral of the story is: don't be afraid to collect your local worms for a fishing expedition. You're unlikely to harm the local environment by doing so and you may very well be doing it a favor. And avoid releasing leftover fishbait worms in soil; toss leftovers in for the fish.
