Ravenous Worm Species Disrupting Conn.’s Forest Ecosystem

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A ravenous species of earthworm has arrived in Connecticut with the potential to trigger all types of injury to forests and wildlife.

The so-called “leaping worms” can destabilize the soil and make it tougher for some vegetation to develop, state scientist Gale Ridge informed Hearst Connecticut Media Group. Additionally they can accumulate poisonous metals like mercury and lead, that are then eaten by birds and different animals.

They do not truly bounce, however have sturdy, inflexible our bodies that may whip violently if they’re disturbed. Additionally they can climb, and have been discovered within the higher tales of buildings.

“These are earthworms on steroids,” Ridge, who works for the entomology division on the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, informed the information group.

The worms, initially introduced from Japan within the Nineteen Forties to feed platypuses on the Bronx Zoo, are unfold largely via the transport of mulch, compost and potted vegetation, and have been discovered all through the state however largely alongside the shore and in Fairfield County.

Ridge suggested not shopping for compost or mulch until the vendor can show it has been heat-treated from 105 levels to 131 levels for at the very least three days, and never shopping for worms on the Web.

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