Sellers of plants should warn public of dangers of contaminated garden matter with Australian Flat Worm

by foie - Friends of the Irish Environment Sat May 09, 2020 01:09

PRESS RELEASE
FRIENDS OF THE IRISH ENVIRONMENT
FRIDAY 8 MAY 2020
IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gardens in south west ‘riddled’ with invasive flatworms
Radio appeal for ‘Citizens Science’ to address earthworm loss

A west Cork based environmental organisation is calling on gardeners to become ‘citizen scientists’ and test for the presence of invasive alien flatworms that they say are decimating earth worms in the gardens of Cork and Kerry.

Speak on local radio C-103 FM’s Cork Today, Tony Lowes of Friends of the Irish Environment explained that the flatworms, from New Zealand and Australia, eat our native earthworms and have met no natural enemies of their own in Ireland. ‘The earthworms that these invasive species consume are vital for soil fertilizing and drainage. According to the National Biodiversity Centre, the implications of their indefinite spread for the drainage and fertility of our soil pose a threat to Ireland’s biodiversity and economy’, he told C-103’s JohnPaul McNamara.

FIE, which found the Australian flatworm in their garden last week and reported it to the National Biodiversity Centre Alien Species Register, said that they had never experienced such concern with a Facebook posting, which was viewed more than 17,000 times in four days.

‘Comments on our posting show a widespread presence of these flatworms. We have been told that one gardener found more than 200 under a plastic ground sheet - with almost as many the following day. Another gardener on the Beara peninsula reports he has lost all his earth worms and is left only with these flatworms.’

The National Biodiversity Data Centre urges gardeners to be vigilant when transplanting plants purchased from outlets, as contaminated garden matter from the global horticultural trade is the primary source of the spread of the species.

‘However, the national data base records only 31 records of the Australian flatworm and we think ‘citizen science’ could be very useful in both determining the extent of the problem, and of raising awareness.’

“Many people are working in their gardens under the current conditions and this is a prime time of year for these invasive pests. While ultimately elimination of any invasive species is challenging, it is important that we track their progress and do all we can to protect our own earthworms because of their vital role in soil fertility,” said Caroline Lewis of FIE, who made the discovery when checking at night for slugs.

The experts recommend people search underneath anything lying on the soil surface such as logs, plant pots, paving stones, stones, planks, plastic compost bags, chipboard etc. The characteristic eggs are oval, black and shiny, with the larger ones resembling blackcurrants.

Hugh Jones, the international expert who has been advising FIE on the issue, says that suitable traps are black bin-bags with a couple of spades full of soil or sand, knotted and dumped firmly on the ground so as to be close to the soil surface. They can easily be lifted at intervals to search. Log sections are also quite good with the flat surface on the ground. They retain moisture and flatworms will seek refuge underneath, he advises.

‘Appropriate legislation’ needed, says West Cork Garden Trail
The West Cork Garden Trail said it would be ‘concerned to preserve and enhance the overall health of soil. Earthworms are like underground worker bees in this regard and Flatworms attacking and eating them and not having an attack predator of their own is of great concern to us. So WCGT will work with Friends of the Irish Environment on this matter and will join in pressing for the enactment of appropriate legislation in Ireland to counter the threat."
ENDS

CONTACT: Tony Lowes 353 + (0)87 2176316 / 353 (0)27 74771

NOTES
Australian flatworms have an elongate, strap-like body. The eyes are absent or minute and arranged along the body margins in a single row along the body. Charles Darwin wrote that ‘In general form they resemble little slugs, but are very much narrower in proportion, and several of the species are beautifully coloured with longitudinal stripes’. New Zealand flatworms are orange and covered in sticky mucus. Photographs are available on the National Biodiversity Centre’s website.

Flatworms hunt actively in the soil, moving along crevices and burrows, as they follow the scented trail of their prey. The mouth of a flatworm is not on its anterior (head) end, but halfway down the length of the body, in the centre of the ventral surface. The flatworm feeds by attaching itself to its prey with mucus, secreting digestive juices, and digesting the prey externally. Small prey can be swallowed whole. When food is not available, flatworms appear to be able to survive for over a year without feeding.

IDENTIFICATION
British Land Flatworms, Hugh Jones, British Wildlife 2005
http://www.record-lrc.co.uk/Downloads/5-2005%20-%20jones%20-%20british%20land%20flatworms%5B16012014%5D.pdf

REPORTING
If found, gardeners should photograph the flatworm beside a ruler or a coin, sending it, with a report on the number and location, to the Biodiversity Data Centre and copying it to Friends of the Irish Environment. Once collected, the specimines will degrade within hours.
https://www.biodiversityireland.ie/projects/invasive-species/
admin@friendsoftheirishenvironment.org

MAPS OF RECORDS
Artioposthia triangulate [Arthurdendyus triangulatus] – New Zealand
https://maps.biodiversityireland.ie/Species/187040
Australoplana sanguinea – Australia
https://maps.biodiversityireland.ie/Species/28072