“I can’t figure out what this is”, writes Thomas in his submission regarding the thin, white worm-like creature pictured below. “I found it in my backyard soil. It’s extremely thin and maybe four inches long. You can see how small it is by the wire it’s crawling on for size and the mite that goes near it. It looked like a piece of fishing line at first but then I noticed it moving. It’s mostly clear/white in color with some black insides. I’ve been trying to find what it is but I can’t find anything similar to this. Do you know what it is? Thanks.” To start with, we want to thank Thomas for his incredible photo, which has definitely been magnified, as the green wire that the worm is crawling on looks like a pipe! We also want to thank him for the context which is super helpful.

Right off the bat, we will say that we think Thomas found pot worms in his backyard. Pot worms are harmless worms that live in soil, consuming the organic growths that form there. Much like earthworms, they then excrete nutrient-rich waste that acts as a fertilizer in the soil, making their presence beneficial. But they are unlike earthworms in some key ways. Firstly, their size. Pot worms, as Thomas has seen, are much smaller than earthworms. This means that they cannot eat and digest nearly as much matter as earthworms can, particularly those things which are too big for their small bodies, like leaves. Instead, they mostly eat fungi, bacteria, and frass (powdery poop) from other soil-dwelling creatures. Secondly, one should not be concerned about their large numbers. Pot worms congregate in large groups, and one will usually notice dozens of them in one spot in the soil. This is completely normal. When earthworm numbers get this out of hand, one could have a problem on their hands, as their excrement starts to ‘over-aerate’ the soil, which can cause erosion and/or dryness.

However, just like earthworms do, pot worms can also aerate the soil to a healthy extent: their burrows create pores in the soil which help it better soak up water and other nutrients. We should note that there are many species of pot worms, just like earthworms, so we cannot pinpoint exactly which species it is that Thomas found, but the characteristics we have outlined can generally be applied across all species of pot worms. Lastly, we want to just point to why they are called pot worms. This is because they are often found in compost soil: the soil we use to plant houseplants in pots. For that reason, they have been found in houseplants before, another key difference between these guys and earthworms.

To conclude, the tiny white worms Thomas found in his backyard are pot worms: harmless little benefactors of the environment. We recommend leaving the worms to their devices, as their presence is completely normal and beneficial. We hope this helps, and we wish Thomas the very best!

Summary

Article Name

Tiny Clear White Worms in Soil are Pot Worms

Description

"I can't figure out what this is", writes Thomas in his submission regarding the thin, white worm-like creature pictured below. "I found it in my backyard soil. It's extremely thin and maybe four inches long. You can see how small it is by the wire it's crawling on for size and the mite that goes near it. It looked like a piece of fishing line at first but then I noticed it moving. It's mostly clear/white in color with some black insides. I've been trying to find what it is but I can't find anything similar to this. Do you know what it is? Thanks." To start with, we want to thank Thomas for his incredible photo, which has definitely been magnified, as the green wire that the worm is crawling on looks like a pipe! We also want to thank him for the context which is super helpful.

Author

Worm Researcher Anton