These 'Crazy Worms' Are Poised To Wreak Havoc On The Midwest

[xchrom]

http://www.businessinsider.com/crazy-worms-have-invaded-wisconsin-2014-7



The Asian "crazy worm" looks pretty harmless, as earthworms do, but the little worm can do big damage.
Unlike the vast majority of approximately 5,00o earthworm species on the planet, Amynthas agrestis, also known as the Asian crazy worm or Alabama jumper, is actually considered a destructive invasive pest, and it has scientists seriously worried.

The worms showed up in Wisconsin for the first time in the fall of 2013, at the arboretum of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. But now it has done something scientists were hoping it wouldn't — it turned up again, proving that it can survive the Wisconsin winter (and if you recall, this past one wasn't just any winter).

"We knew their introduction into our state poses a huge threat to the future of our forests," said Bernie Williams, an invasive species specialist in forest health at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, in a press release from the University of Wisconsin.

The worms are originally found in Japan and the Korean peninsula. They grow to 8 inches long and are marked by a light band around their dark bodies — and as you can see in the gif below, they really do jump around like crazy.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/crazy-worms-have-invaded-wisconsin-2014-7#ixzz37ildwxKa

[n2doc]

1. Gagh!

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Gagh

Best served alive.

[xchrom]

2. lupDujHomwIj luteb gharghmey

My hovercraft is full of eels!

[hatrack]

6. "I weel not buy thees record . . .

. . . Eet ees scratched!"

[Baitball Blogger]

3. The Strain!

[NickB79]

4. Most of the worms in the Midwest are already invasive exotics

Areas like Wisconsin and Minnesota didn't have native earthworm populations before European settlers arrived, bringing European worms with them.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/terrestrialanimals/earthworms/index.html

[happyslug]

7. The article mentions that earthworm are not native

The real issue is "would these earthworms be native if it was not for the Ice Age?"

Where glaciers existed earthworms died out. Earthworms were making they back north since the last Ice Age. The real issue were the earthworms brought in farmers would be native without the farmers?

[hatrack]

5. "Have You Seen Any Of These Insects?"

If So, Notify Authorities Immediately!"