Like insects, earthworms are among the animals most frequently encountered by many Floridians. Our kids play with them, dissect them in middle school biology, we fish with them, they crawl across our sidewalks and live in our flower pots. Despite this, their ecological and economic importance often goes unrecognized. Earthworms have several important ecological roles. Additionally, some species are used commercially for bait, animal feed, environmental remediation, and composting.

Want to know more? Visit the August 2012 Featured Creatures – earthworms by Billy Crow, University of Florida:

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/MISC/Earthworm.htm

Dr. Jennifer L. Gillett-Kaufman gillett@ufl.edu is the coordinator for UF-IFAS Featured Creatures. Entomopathogenic Nematodes is UF/IFAS publication number EENY-530.

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