6-4 FB Palousse Earthworm

 A project to understand earthworms and where they are found in relation to native plants and invasive weeds yielded a rare find: several giant Palouse earthworms.

Shan Xu, a University of Idaho student studying soil science, and Karl Umiker, a research support scientist, found two giant Palouse earthworms on March 27.  One of the worms is a juvenile that’s being kept in the Moscow laboratory for study and to provide DNA to help develop future identification techniques. In addition, Xu and Umiker discovered three earthworm cocoons during their sampling. In the weeks since they were collected in the field and kept in the laboratory, two of the cocoons hatched and appear to be fast-growing giant Palouse earthworms.

 "We are beginning to gain some understanding about where we are likely to find the giant Palouse earthworm, and how much we have to learn about them," said University of Idaho soil scientist Jodi Johnson-Maynard. She went on to say: “The largest mature sample that we found was about 9-10 inches in length when it was fully extended it was closer to 11-12 inches.”

Johnson-Maynard's work focuses on earthworm ecology and nutrient cycling. Earthworms in general have a major beneficial effect on agriculture.