Giant Predatory Worms Quietly Invaded France, And Biologists Are Shocked

Quartz ^ | 05/23/2018 | BEN GUARINO,

[BenLurkin]

Hammerhead flatworms, which grow to a foot or more in length, do not belong in European vegetable gardens.

"We do not have that in France," said Justine, a professor at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.

The predatory worms are native to Asia, where they happily gobble up earthworms under a warmer sun.

The gardener who took the first photo, an amateur naturalist named Pierre Gros, emailed Justine a second picture a week later. It was of a completely different species of giant worm.

…

"The species are cryptic and soil-dwelling so can be easily overlooked, which often explains their inadvertent shipment round the world," said entomologist Archie Murchie of Britain's Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, who was not involved with the study.

Worms like these are spreading and will continue to spread, he warned, especially "with increased global trade."

Biologists knew that smaller worms, which eat escargot snails, had made their way to France. But until recently, Justine, an expert in parasites and worms called nematodes, had no idea France was under a hammerhead invasion.

[doorgunner69]

Beat me by two hours, shoulda known............

[doorgunner69]

Interested in what a salt shaker will do. Great effect on slugs and snails.........

[BenLurkin]

“...the wrong gol-durn rec room”

[21twelve]

I did some work at a mine in Indonesia - 12,000 feet elevation. I don’t recall them having flat heads, but they had worms that were I bet 16 inches long!

[Buckeye McFrog]

Tonight's feature on Monster Chiller Horror Theater is The Giant Asian Flathead Worms That Invaded France, starring Catherine Deneuve, Maurice Chevalier and Keiju Kobayashi.