Worms 4 Pc

[Gauthier Zitnik]

Wormsvary in size from microscopic to over 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length for marine polychaete worms (bristle worms);[1] 6.7 metres (22 ft) for the African giant earthworm, Microchaetus rappi;[2] and 58 metres (190 ft) for the marine nemertean worm (bootlace worm), Lineus longissimus.[3] Various types of worm occupy a small variety of parasitic niches, living inside the bodies of other animals. Free-living worm species do not live on land but instead live in marine or freshwater environments or underground by burrowing.

In biology, "worm" refers to an obsolete taxon, Vermes, used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, now seen to be paraphyletic. The name stems from the Old English word wyrm. Most animals called "worms" are invertebrates, but the term is also used for the amphibian caecilians and the slowworm Anguis, a legless burrowing lizard. Invertebrate animals commonly called "worms" include annelids, nematodes, flatworms, nemerteans, chaetognaths, priapulids, and insect larvae such as grubs and maggots.

In taxonomy, "worm" refers to an obsolete grouping, Vermes, used by Carl Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, now seen to be polyphyletic. In 1758, Linnaeus created the first hierarchical classification in his Systema Naturae.[4] In his original scheme, the animals were one of three kingdoms, divided into the classes of Vermes, Insecta, Pisces, Amphibia, Aves, and Mammalia. Since then the last four have all been subsumed into a single phylum, the Chordata, while his Insecta (which included the crustaceans and arachnids) and Vermes have been renamed or broken up. The process was begun in 1793 by Lamarck, who called the Vermes une espce de chaos (a sort of chaos)[a] and split the group into three new phyla, worms, echinoderms, and polyps (which contained corals and jellyfish). By 1809, in his Philosophie Zoologique, Lamarck had created 9 phyla apart from vertebrates (where he still had 4 phyla: mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish) and molluscs, namely cirripedes, annelids, crustaceans, arachnids, insects, worms, radiates, polyps, and infusorians.[6] Chordates are remarkably wormlike by ancestry.[7]

In the 13th century, worms were recognized in Europe as part of the category of reptiles that consisted of a miscellany of egg-laying creatures, including "snakes, various fantastic monsters, lizards, assorted amphibians", as recorded by Vincent of Beauvais in his Mirror of Nature.[8] In everyday language, the term worm is also applied to various other living forms such as larvae, insects, millipedes, centipedes, shipworms (teredo worms), or even some vertebrates (creatures with a backbone) such as blindworms and caecilians. Worms include several groups. The three main phyla are:

Familiar worms include the earthworms, members of phylum Annelida. Other invertebrate groups may be called worms, especially colloquially. In particular, many unrelated insect larvae are called "worms", such as the railroad worm, woodworm, glowworm, bloodworm, butterworm, inchworm, mealworm, silkworm, and woolly bear worm.

Worms may also be called helminths, particularly in medical terminology when referring to parasitic worms, especially the Nematoda (roundworms) and Cestoda (tapeworms). Hence, "helminthology" is the study of parasitic worms. When a human or an animal, such as a dog or horse, is said to "have worms", it means that it is infested with parasitic worms, typically roundworms or tapeworms. Deworming is a method to kill off the worms that have infected a human or animal by giving anthelmintic drugs.

Lobopodians are an informal grouping of extinct panarthropods from the Cambrian to the Carboniferous that are often called worms or "worm-like animals" despite having had legs in the form of stubby lobopods. Likewise, the extant Onychophora are sometimes called velvet worms despite possessing stubby legs.

Jumping worms are non-native, invasive earthworms first confirmed in Wisconsin in 2013. Native to eastern Asia, they present challenges to homeowners, gardeners and forest managers. Their name comes from their behavior: When disturbed, they thrash, spring into the air, and even shed their tails to escape.

Endemic to parts of Asia, jumping worms first arrived in North America sometime in the late 19th century, most likely in imported plants and other horticultural and agricultural materials. Since then, jumping worms have become widespread across much of the midwestern, southeast and northeast United States. Most recently, they have appeared along the west coast and some parts of southeastern Canada.

No native earthworms have existed in Wisconsin since the last glacier moved through the state thousands of years ago, scouring the landscape down to the bedrock. The familiar earthworms we see in our gardens and put on our fishing hooks originated in Europe and were brought here by settlers.

Jumping worms can quickly transform soil into dry, granular pellets with a texture similar to discarded coffee grounds. This altered soil structure is often unaccommodating to ornamental and garden plants and inhospitable to many native plant species. In addition, they can deplete the soil of nutrients and impact soil organisms. In many cases, invasive plants thrive where jumping worms live.

Jumping worms feed on organic matter, such as leaf litter and mulch, as well as within the soil. They excrete grainy-looking, hard little pellets ("castings") that alter the texture and composition of the soil.

In addition to consuming nutrients that plants, animals, fungi and bacteria need to survive, the resulting soil, which resembles large coffee grounds, provides poor structure and water retention for many forest understory plants and garden plants. Planting seedlings or transplanting mature plants into this granular topsoil can be especially difficult.

All non-native earthworms, not just jumping worms, can harm forests by changing the soil structure and forest floor vegetation. Their feeding and burrowing behaviors can result in a loss of soil moisture, compacted soil, exposed roots, erosion and an increase of pathogens and non-native plants. The result is reduced diversity of native plants and animals in delicate forest ecosystems.

Many garden clubs and other non-profit organizations hold plant sales to raise money and assist the public in procuring plants for their gardens and landscapes. Plant sales are important social events that build community and foster a love of gardening and nature.

Unfortunately, plant sales can be a way for jumping worms and their cocoons to spread. However, practices can be implemented to greatly minimize the introduction and spread of jumping worms through plant sales:

Unwelcome guests: Beware the emergence of dreaded jumping worms by Kathy Stahl, co-chair of the Lower Chippewa Invasives Partnership. A well-written article first published in the Dunn county News on July 7, 2018.

Ralph Nuzum lecture series: Impacts of invasive earthworms on forests. A 53-minute talk by Evan Larson, professor of geography at UW-Platteville, discusses the effect of non-native earthworms on ecosystems of northeastern forests. Produced August 2015.

The Wisconsin jumping worm webpage is a collaborative effort between the Wisconsin DNR, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension and the Olbrich Botanical Gardens.

Filarial worms are a family of parasites that are found in tropical regions. A parasite is an organism (a living thing) that lives on or inside another organism. Once they infect a person, they can cause diseases that attack different parts of the body.

Filarial worm diseases affect millions of people a year in Africa, South America, the Pacific islands, and Asia. They spread mostly through the bites of insects like blackflies, mosquitoes, or midges.

Tiny immature worms, known as larvae, will enter a human body when the insect bites into the skin. Once inside a person, they spread throughout the body, grow, and reproduce. When an insect bites an infected person, the insect can ingest the new larvae and eventually infect another person.

In most cases, the best way to prevent most filarial worm infections is to avoid insect bites. Wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, using insect repellent on exposed skin, and sleeping under mosquito nets will help prevent insects from biting you.

Onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis are currently the target of mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns. These campaigns deliver safe and inexpensive drugs aimed at reducing or eliminating transmission of these infections. For some, filaria MDA will reduce symptoms as well. For others, other treatments are needed for symptoms.

Traditionally, worms have been raised for fishing bait as well as a protein and enzyme source for various products, including animal food and biodegradable cleansers. Worms have also been used to manage agricultural wastes such as dairy manure. They convert waste into worm manure (also known as worm castings), a nutrient-rich, biologically beneficial soil product.

Vermicomposting is the use of worms as a composting method to produce vermicompost. Vermiculture is worm farming for the production of worms. In recent years, worm farming has been practiced on both a small and large scale with three complementary goals in mind: waste diversion, vermicomposting, and vermiculture.

Much of the content of worm castings and their effects on plants are still being studied. Nonetheless, farmers and soils blenders know the benefits of worm castings from their actual effect on plants and product sales, even when the worms are fed low-nutrient materials such as paper fiber.

Most worm farms raise two main types of earthworm: Eisenia foetida and Lumbricus rubellis. These worms are commonly used to produce vermicompost, as well as for fish bait. Both are referred to by a variety of common names, including red worms, red wigglers, tiger worms, brandling worms, and manure worms. These two species are often raised together and are difficult to tell apart, though they are not believed to interbreed. While several other species have been successfully bred in recent years, this fact sheet focuses primarily on the use of these species.

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