{"id":33402,"date":"2025-07-02T09:47:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T13:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=33402"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:53:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T19:53:18","slug":"asian-jumping-worms-purdue-landscape-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/asian-jumping-worms-purdue-landscape-report\/","title":{"rendered":"How to ID Asian Jumping Worms, Purdue Landscape Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Purdue Landscape Report<\/em><\/a>: It\u2019s that time again!\u00a0 With the arrival of warm temperatures and increased rainfall, many of us are getting to work on our lawns, gardens, and landscaping.\u00a0 Unfortunately, this often comes with discovering what new (or old) invasive species are here to haunt us.\u00a0 So far this year, the invasive I\u2019ve gotten the most questions on is the Asian jumping worm.\u00a0 This earthworm\u2019s life cycle tends to experience \u2018boom & bust\u2019 years due to their feeding habits, and, anecdotally speaking, we appear to be experiencing an increase in their populations throughout the state this season.\u00a0 Now is a great time to brush up on our understanding of this organism, and the revisit how it impacts our environment.<\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/a>

Figure 1. The clitellum, the set of pale, milky colored segments, is the reproductive organ of earthworms.<\/p><\/div>\n

Identification<\/strong>
\nWhile Asian jumping worms share a lot of traits with other, less harmful earthworm species, they do have some features we can use to differentiate them from the rest.\u00a0 Jumping worms tend to be darker in color, since they live either on top of the soil or just under the first layer of plant detritus and get more exposure to sunlight.\u00a0 Asian jumping worms also have a significantly higher number of bristles, or setae, that they can use to move around.\u00a0 They can have as many as forty bristles per segment, in contrast to the eight found on other species, giving them the traction they need to wriggle and squirm as violently as they do.\u00a0 Perhaps the easiest feature we can use to identify them is the clitellum, the organ that contains they reproductive organs.\u00a0 On Asian jumping worms, the clitellum just looks like a very pale set of segments close to the anterior end of the worm, whereas on most other worms, it\u2019s about midway down the body and saddle-shaped.\u00a0 Finally, we can detect their presence by changes in our soil.\u00a0 Asian jumping will not improve soil quality for growing like other earthworms can, but rather change the soil consistency into something like coffee grounds, rendering it unsuitable for growing most crops and ornamentals.<\/p>\n

Environmental Impact<\/strong>
\nAs I alluded to above, Asian jumping worms do significant damage to soil quality when left unmanaged.\u00a0 These earthworms, unlike their beneficial cousins, do not provide ecosystems services like soil aeration or castings that help add nutrients to the soil.\u00a0 Since they live at the surface, they do not burrow, and their castings lock in nutrients and often get swept away by hydrological events.\u00a0 Asian jumping worms also tend to gather in large groups whenever they infest an area, resulting in most of the decaying plant material and other organic material being stripped out of the soil.\u00a0 Often, the only plants capable of developing in those conditions are invasive themselves!<\/p>\n

Reporting<\/strong>
\nWe are still learning about the Asian jumping worms spread in Indiana, so we are asking everyone to please report sightings.\u00a0 You can report them either online by going to the EDDMapS website<\/a> or you can call 1-866-NOEXOTIC.\u00a0 We ask that you take a picture and tell us where you were when you saw the worms. You can also check the Report Invasive webpage<\/a> for up-to-date information on all kinds of invasive species, or reach out to Bob Bruner, Purdue University Exotic Forest Pest Educator, by emailing\u00a0rfbruner@purdue.edu<\/a>.\u00a0 With your help, we can map out this worm and create effective plans to limit its presence in our state.<\/p>\n

View the original article on the Purdue Landscape Report website: Asian Jumping Worms: How to ID this soil pest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Subscribe and receive the newsletter:\u00a0Purdue Landscape Report Newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Resources:<\/strong>
\nGardeners Asked to be Vigilant This Spring for Invasive Jumping Worm<\/a>, Purdue Extension – FNR Got Nature? Blog
\nFall webworms: Should you manage them?<\/a>, Purdue Landscape Report
\nMimosa Webworm<\/a>, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
\nSod Webworms<\/a>, Turf Science at Purdue University
\nBagworm caterpillars are out feeding, be ready to spray your trees<\/a>, Purdue Extension Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR) Got Nature? Blog
\nLandscape & Ornamentals: Bagworms<\/a>, The Education Store
\nPurdue Plant Doctor App Suite<\/a>, Purdue Extension-Entomology
\nFind an Arborist<\/a> website, Trees are Good, International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)
\nID That Tree<\/a> – Video Playlist, Purdue Extension \u2013 Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
\nFifty Common Trees of Indiana<\/a>, Purdue FNR web page list
\nIndiana Department of Natural Resources: Invasive Species<\/a>
\nIndiana Invasive Species Council<\/a>
\nCooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA)<\/a>
\nReport Invasive<\/a>, Purdue Extension
\nNative Trees of the Midwest<\/a>, Purdue University Press<\/p>\n

Bob Bruner<\/a>, Exotic Forest Pest Educator
\nPurdue Entomology<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Purdue Landscape Report: It\u2019s that time again!\u00a0 With the arrival of warm temperatures and increased rainfall, many of us are getting to work on our lawns, gardens, and landscaping.\u00a0 Unfortunately, this often comes with discovering what new (or old) invasive species are here to haunt us.\u00a0 So far this year, the invasive I\u2019ve gotten the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,47,54],"tags":[2051,161,65,895,72],"class_list":["post-33402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-howto","category-invasiveinsects","category-wildlife","tag-asian-jumping-worms","tag-identification","tag-invasive-insects","tag-purdue-landscape-report","tag-wildlife","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners","audience-for-professionals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33402"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34458,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33402\/revisions\/34458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}