I have large areas of coco bean husks in my garden, and tonight I saw a
large amount of jumping "worms" about 1/4 inch in length. It was raining
lightly tonight while I was out there, and this is the 1st time in all the
years I have used these husks that this has happened. Now that the rain has
stopped they are "gone".

Any ideas?

Thanks
Dave

nine wrote:
> I have large areas of coco bean husks in my garden, and tonight I saw a
> large amount of jumping "worms" about 1/4 inch in length. It was raining
> lightly tonight while I was out there, and this is the 1st time in all the
> years I have used these husks that this has happened. Now that the rain has
> stopped they are "gone".
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Thanks
> Dave

Not a clue, hope someone does, very interesting!
Joe T
Baytown

"nine" <dwinum [at] ameritech.net> wrote in message
news:j7Xsg.63689$Lm5.29464 [at] newssvr12.news.prodigy.com...
>I have large areas of coco bean husks in my garden, and tonight I saw a
>large amount of jumping "worms" about 1/4 inch in length. It was raining
>lightly tonight while I was out there, and this is the 1st time in all the
>years I have used these husks that this has happened. Now that the rain has
>stopped they are "gone".
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Thanks
> Dave

Wow, that's a poser. I really don't know what
those were. You might google cocoa bean
mulch and see if any of the state or federal
ag sites have information.

Oh what the heck, I did some research and
found this site:
http://www.cocoamulch.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=browse&id =28575&pageid=96

With this intriguing paragraph:
"Mulching will also encourage the presence of earth worms, which further
aerate the soil and release nutrients in the form of casting. This may
become apparent after extended rain, when you notice patches of white larvae
on your Cocoa Mulch, they will burrow back into the soil when the sun comes
out. Earthworms should be considered a prominent citizen in any garden and
are particularly important in perennial beds or in garden plots that are
rarely plowed or tilled."

Sound familiar?

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8

Gail Futoran wrote:
> "nine" <dwinum [at] ameritech.net> wrote in message
> news:j7Xsg.63689$Lm5.29464 [at] newssvr12.news.prodigy.com...
> >I have large areas of coco bean husks in my garden, and tonight I saw a
> >large amount of jumping "worms" about 1/4 inch in length.
>
> "Mulching will also encourage the presence of earth worms, which further
> aerate the soil and release nutrients in the form of casting. This may
> become apparent after extended rain, when you notice patches of white larvae
> on your Cocoa Mulch, they will burrow back into the soil when the sun comes
> out.

That's a really odd paragraph. First, earthworms hatch from their eggs
as small, but fully formed earthworms, not larvae. So, what seems to
be described in that paragraph is some insect larva but it clearly says
"earthworms" so it's a bit odd. Also, the smallest earthworms are
considerably longer than a quarter inch. What "nine" describes does
sound (to me) more like an insect larva than a true worm.

I know they are small so this may not be easy but a picture would be a
big help. Any chance of simulating rain and then grabbing a couple?
Then you could photograph them and post the picture somewhere for us to
see.

--
H