The fishing worm that looses its tail when you pick it up!

[Bobberman]

Years ago I came across a unusual worm that looked like a night crawler but moved much faster like a snake. I found these worms in a sandy rocky soil that was very dry! I put a bunch down near my garden and had a lot of leaves that year about 10 years ago. Now I have thousands everywhere. They come to the surface under things like shingles any kind of woody or leafy mixes. They are very close to the surface after a rain or when the ground is wet. Put them in your hand and they will squirm out fast and usually leave a piece of their tail! Has anyone else come across these worms? I can gather a dozen in 60 seconds under our trees! Great for fishing even the little piece of tail!

[applestar]

I was thinking it has to be a reptile like a lizard to leave a piece of its tail behind, then thought since it likes wet ground what about NEWT?

Tried googling "legless newt" and there were hits leading to amphibian called caecilian.
See if they look like what you are talking about.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caecilian


https://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_q ... ifeform=ne

[Bobberman]

Good try but its a worm no mouth that I can see. Its the same color as a night crawler but longer than a red worm and way faster moving than any worm I have ever seen!. I originally got them next to a hardware store behind my house on a rocky hillside! I have been putting them in my big 2 and 4 gallon pots that I have vine crops growing for the winter greenhouse. I just placed about 50 of them in my greenhouse where I have stuff growing on the ground around tomatoes and swiss chard!

[webmaster]

That pic sure looks like a worm to me! Learn something every day!