Wanted: Giant Fragrant Earthworm That Spits

The giant Palouse earthworm, Driloleirus americanus, (above). The southern worm, Aporrectodea trapezoides, (below). Credit: Yaniria Sanchez-de Leon/University of Idaho © 2005
While most of us are in search of the perfect tan, vacation spot, or cocktail this summer, Jodi Johnson-Maynard is on the hunt for a three-foot-long, lily-scented, spitting worm that lives in 15-foot-deep burrows in Idaho’s Palouse region. Though commonly seen in the late 1800s, there have been only a handful of documented sightings of the giant Palouse earthworm since then. The most recent encounter came in 2005, when one of Johnson-Maynard’s University of Idaho grad students discovered one in a shovelful of soil—though that specimen was a mere 6 inches long.

To read more about the search, which will employ methods ranging from sifting soil to shocking the worms to the surface with electrical shocks (hmm, I’m suddenly having visions of the fried worms we ate in sixth-grade science class…), check out the AP article by Nicholas K. Geranios.

Several groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity and the Palouse Prairie Foundation, are pushing the Obama administration to list the creature as endangered. One of the few native earthworms (most species found here today hitched a ride in soil shipped from Europe), it would be the first worm listed. To sign a petition to protect the giant Palouse earthworm under the Endangered Species Act, click here. To see a recipe for (non-endangered) 'earthworm chow', click here.