I don't know if the earthworms I discovered in my Uptown Greensboro, North
Carolina garden a few years ago might be endangered but they are
apparently thriving alongside the regular earthworms in my garden.
Clicking on the photographs enlarges them.
When I first discovered these green earthworms several years ago I
carried some of them to the Guilford County Agricultural Extension
Office about a mile away and asked them to identify them. They couldn't.
They were few and far between when I first found them but now they
outnumber the regular earthworms though I've no shortage of those
either.
I've searched far and wide and have been told the Allolobophora chlorotica (Green earthworm) only lives in Britain. But here they are right here in my Greensboro, North Carolina, USA garden.
These worms are not dyed nor are the photos retouched. If you'd like to
see them up close and personal I'll let you come over and we'll dig a
few up.
The other worms in the pictures look like the same worms that have inhabited my yard and gardens for the last 50 or so years.
The green worms do move slower than the red worms. I had to move the red
worms back into the frame several times while shooting the pictures. As
you can well see, I am not a great photographer.
Maybe these are regular earthworms like the NC Ag Extension Service told
me they are but if that's the case then why have we not seen green
worms until just a few years ago and why are they not the same color as
the other worms who exist side by side with them in my garden?