So the factoid that makes up the basis of this claim is…
False.
I’ve read that the earthworm is not indigenous to the United States. Is that true?
Molly Chatterton | Shaftsbury, Vermont
No. Earthworms are native to the United States, says Melissa McCormick, ecologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, but the earthworms in some northern parts of the country (including Vermont) aren’t indigenous. Thousands of years ago, glaciers that covered North America and reached as far south as present-day Illinois, Indiana and Ohio wiped out native earthworms. Species from Europe and Asia, most likely introduced unintentionally in ship ballast or the roots of imported plants, have spread throughout North America.
The only world where the majority of North America doesn’t have native earthworms is the Mercator projection. Sure, there are both non-native and invasive earthworms; however, its almost inevitable that these organisms would have made it this far north at some point: they were almost assuredly there prior to the latest glaciation. Owing to the fact that its not covered in a mile of ice any more, the worms were coming.
Oh shit
The plot thickens
Now I’m confused. Here’s what Wikipedia says. The last ice age was 11,000 years ago, so presumably they should have spread back out northwards since then… or maybe they needed to evolve the ability to survive in the cold first, which they haven’t had time to do? IDK.
I’ll edit the title to be more accurate. I don’t necessarily see a conflict between the fine details of what the article says / what Wikipedia says / what Smithsonian says, but my title is misleading and the careless way I read the article led me to totally misunderstand it.
Why would they do significant damage to boreal forests? I always thought earthworms are great for the soil, and there are boreal forests in Europe too.
The European worms colonizers brought are fine, they’re similar enough to the ones that used to be here.
What’s bad are the “crazy worms” which I believe come from Asia?
You can tell the difference because a normal worm just moves around like you’d expect. A “crazy worm” is like a fish out of water violently flopping around.
Those you should kill because they’re invasive.
But the worms we remember as kids are fine. Just non-native, but that’s different than evasive.
I think you literally made 100% of the first half of this up
There are no earthworms that used to be here; read the article. Crazy worms do exactly the same thing (remove the layer of leaf litter that traditional NA boreal forests depend on), they just spread a little more quickly which makes it a little more of a problem. But the essential issue is the same. And I don’t think killing either one of them makes any difference at all; humans will not encounter either one on anything even remotely similar to the scale that would make going after them on an individual level a useful thing to do.
Edit: Okay I am totally wrong; the article talks about northern forests only, and what I’m saying isn’t true of the US / North America as a whole.
“Of the 182 taxa of earthworms found in the United States and Canada, 60 (33%) are introduced species, these earthworm species are primarily from Europe and Asia.”
There are native species of earthworms in North America. Just that there are no native species at certain latitudes, because of the last ice age.
“Earthworms are shifting their ranges northwards into forests between 45° and 69° latitude in North America that have lacked native earthworms since the last ice age.”
While it may not do much to go after them on an individual level, there are ways to mitigate or slow their breeding and migration. For example they could introduce native predators that could reduce their populations.
Wait so you’re telling me that there was a time and space on earth without those fuckers? They are my nemesis, my biggest phobia, and just imagining a reality without them is a second of relaxation that I could never convey in its grandeur.
How is an earth worm your biggest phobia? They are harmless to you.
I can’t rationalize a phobia away
Never said you could. But why?
Why I have a phobia of them? (Along, btw, with maggots, larvae, caterpillars, etc.) I don’t think I can give you a good answer, because, well, there is no rational answer to that. I understand they are harmless to me and even good for the environment. Which is why the thought of a place of earth that is both healthy and worm(-alike)-free is literally a paradise dream to me.
There is no reason for the complete and utter shock feeling. I can’t explain it. But I would, for real, rather die than get close to this. I am very willing to chop my arm off to not touch one. I know I was very lucky for the last 32 years to have avoided these situations and I don’t know what to do when they will come up some time in the future. But I do stand by what I said and I think and reconsider it on a regular basis. So far I would rather die or chop my arm off. It’s not a feeling like a panic attack, it is a constant panic mode, a shock, a feeling of existential threat.
You might wonder why I don’t do therapy. The big problem is that I absolutely don’t want it to be otherwise. I don’t want to not have this phobia, I just don’t want the triggers in my life. The thought of looking at a worm and be ok with it is nothing that I feel is worth aquiring. Irrationally, all of you who are just ok with these creatures or tolerate them are the weird ones to me. How does it not make you panic? It feels like the natural and right response to me. At the same time, I know why - because there is no harm. I know your reactions are normal. I just, emotionally, absolutely don’t want this to be normal.
PS: I’ve been thinking for days on whether to reply or not and decided this time to not delete that worm related comment but actually try to tell you. My first reaction on replies when I happen to comment on this issue is to delete every evidence of me ever talking about worms so that I don’t end up being further engaged or ridiculed. (I understand the latter, I always try to imagine someone having a phobia of squirrels, which are like the cutest thing.) I also tried my best to spell the words out, which is hard to me. I usually just write ~ when I text someone. Anyway, sorry for the late reply.
Hey I didn’t mean to sound like I was ridiculing you. I wasn’t sure if you were joking or just being absurd. I genuinely was curious why you have a phobia.
I get it. Some people hate spiders or snakes or anything that doesn’t resemble comfort. It’s not exactly uncommon.
I am sorry you feel that way and have to deal with that phobia. Just know you aren’t alone.
I hope you can find peace. Thank you for replying.
