MOSCOW, Idaho — The giant Palouse earthworm has taken on mythic qualities in this vast agricultural region that stretches from eastern Washington into the Idaho panhandle — its name evoking the sandworms from “Dune” or the creatures from the movie “Tremors.”
The worm is said to secrete a lily-like smell when handled, spit at predators and live in burrows 15 feet deep. There have been only four documented sightings since 1978.
But scientists hope to change that this summer with researchers scouring the Palouse region in hopes of finding more. The worm might be elusive, but there’s no doubt it exists, said Jodi Johnson-Maynard, a University of Idaho professor who is leading the search.
To prove it, she pulled out a glass tube containing the preserved remains of a fat, milky- white worm. One of Johnson-Maynard’s graduate students found this specimen in 2005, and it is the only confirmed example of the species.
The worm in the tube is about 6 inches long, well short of the 3 feet that early observers of the worms in the late 1890s described.
Johnson-Maynard and her team are working this summer at a university research farm and using three methods to try to find a living worm.
One involves digging a hole and sifting the soil through a strainer. The second involves pouring a solution of vinegar and mustard onto the ground, irritating worms until they surface.
The third method is new to this search, using electricity to shock worms to the surface. The shocker can deliver up to 480 volts. It could potentially fry a specimen.
Although it’s tough to come by a live worm, visitors seem happy to take a picture with a dead one. “A lot of people are curious about it,” she said.
