![]() Long term, it might be impossible to get rid of all of the jumping worms, although figuring out how to isolate their locations within the arboretum would provide Rock with the type of experience she wants to have in preparing for a career. If Rock finds more adults when she resamples as her work concludes this month, she can confirm a larger infestation. I then look at them under the microscope, ID them and separate them in jars by type.” “After I collect my worms, I’ll measure them and put them in ethanol. “Sometimes I find a lot of worms and sometimes I find just a few,” Rock said. She also records what she sees in the trees collects a soil sample clears away any vegetation and debris measures the soil’s temperature, pH balance and moisture and notes other bugs she finds. The mustard irritates the worms and forces them to the surface, where Rock collects them. The mustard water is just that: a mix of mustard powder and water that Rock pours on the ground within a given quadrant or sampling area. Testing for jumping worms can be a heavy lift for Rock, requiring assistance from a golf cart as she hauls her equipment, including one gallon of mustard water for every test she intends to conduct during a stay at the arboretum. We’re wondering if that’s because there’s an intersection where they haven’t crossed yet.” We have not found any yet on the other side of the power lines. For right now, the only place we’ve found them is close to Batts Pavilion. It’s also possible that deer might be spreading them. “I’m going to do a GIS (geographic information system) map in my research, comparing where earthworms are found to where invasive species of plants are found,” Rock said. Plus, with the crawlers in the arboretum, local residents are likely to find the jumping worms in local yards. In Michigan, they were found for the first time in the Detroit area around 2008 and more recently in Grand Rapids. They’ve been found in other Great Lakes region states such as Wisconsin and Minnesota. Their movements, processes and quick metabolism change the soil’s texture, so it looks like coffee grounds, Rock said, stripping the soil of its nutrients, and potentially killing plants. ![]() Jumping worms inhabit leaf litter and the top few inches of soil on the ground. There have been attempts to stop their spread, but there hasn’t been any solution.” “They get into potted plants and then people plant them, so they spread all over. “They originally came from Asia through tiny cocoons,” she said. They have no natural predators, individual specimens can reproduce by themselves, and they go through a lifecycle in one season, so they’re faster to mature, Rock said. Jumping worms, though, which come from places such as Korea and Japan, present their own problems. Katie Rock ’23 pours one gallon of mustard water into a sampling area, forcing worms to the soil’s surface.
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