Noted: Fittingly, the thrashing invaders were first confirmed in the state by both Williams and Brad Herrick, ecologist and jumping worm specialist at UW-Madison Arboretum. The worms were discovered during a 2013 talk they were leading about invasive species at the Arboretum in Madison.
In 2013 when the jumping worms were first documented, they were probably already established in Wisconsin and the Midwest, Herrick said.
“They have been in North America for around 100 years,” he said, creeping here from the northeastern part of the country. “The Midwest states have been the recent invasion.”
Herrick, also known as Dr. Worm by Williams, is beginning his PhD study on the biology, ecology and control of jumping worms. He is helping lead a statewide jumping worm survey beginning in July.