Anyone ever seen a turquoise worm?

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danak Olympia, WA(Zone 7b) May 31, 2005

I was weeding by our lilac the other day. I'm always amazed at the amount of life I find in the soil when I'm weeding! But the other day I found an earthworm that had a turquoise shimmer when the light hit it right-- bright turquoise, irridescent. The turquoise shimmer was only on half (I don't know if it was the front or back). I found the worm in with some moss that had been growing over the dirt. Anyone ever heard of this before? I'd really like to know what kind of worm it is.

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gardenwife Newark, OH(Zone 5b) Jun 01, 2005

So it was like a normal earthworm/nightcrawler, but had a turquoise tint? How long was it?

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danak Olympia, WA(Zone 7b) Jun 01, 2005

Yes, it was almost like irridescence. It had the tint if you got it in the right light. It was about two to three inches long when it wasn't all stretched out. I should go out and weed and try to find it again! My professor thought maybe I was dumping nuclear waste, but we garden organically. :)

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Terry Murfreesboro, TN(Zone 7a) Jun 01, 2005

I've seen them have purple or silver iridescent sheens to 'em - but never turquoise.

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danak Olympia, WA(Zone 7b) Jun 01, 2005

Hmm, that's interesting, too! My professor gave me the name of another professor I can ask. I'll let you know if I find out anything from him, too. My professor is also getting a degree in environmental studies and has a marked interest in earthworms, so I'll have to tell him about the purple and silver ones, too. :)

The turquoise sheen was very bright, brighter than irridescence, but it was like irridescence due to the angle of the light...

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gardenwife Newark, OH(Zone 5b) Jun 01, 2005

Hmmm, I looked up iridescent earthworm and found some links which talk about specific species which have an iridescent quality. The Indian blue worm (Perionyx excavatus) sounds like it might be a match. http://www.wormswrangler.com/article10.html Only thing is, this link at http://community.webshots.com/photo/93031731/85587449pvUutU says it's only found naturally along the gulf coast and cannot tolerate cold.

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danak Olympia, WA(Zone 7b) Jun 02, 2005

Yes, it is very similar! The one I found was certainly more turquoise, though, but very similar. And you're right, I doubt the Indian blue worm would survive here... They must be relatives. :) I'm kicking myself now that I didn't take a picture at least! I wonder how mobile earthworms are-- how far it would have crawled since about a week ago. I wonder if I could find it again??

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