Arrow-Headed Flatworm

bugman

April 10th, 2005 at 12:00 am

Categories

Worms

Dear Mr. Bugman,
I cannot say how much I love your site. I have three pics for you, I hope that’s ok? The first is a decent picture of a marbled orb weaver (I recognized it from your site), I just thought you might enjoy the picture. The other two are of a weird, weird worm that visited the concrete porch at my old house in Atlanta when it rained. I’m sorry about the picture quality. Can you tell that it was kind of flat, slimy, not a snake and has a weird sort of hammer-head? We’ve moved so I’m no longer freaked out about them, but what were they? I even took a little one to the local university’s entomology department and they didn’t know. We got tons of slugs and snails when it rained too, and that backyard had flooding problems.
Jennifer

Hi Jennifer,
Thank you for the compliment. We are very excited to get your worm photos. We have received several letters regarding the Arrow-Headed Flatworm, Bipalium kewensis, but we have never gotten a photo. According to Hogue: “This land planarian is slender and brown, with five dark longitudinal stripes; it can be large, up to 10 inches in length. The species is ‘hammerheaded’: the head is shovel-shaped (wider than body) and there are numerous minute eyes along its border. The species was discovered in 1878 in the greenhouses of Kew Gardens near Londodn, hence its scientific name. It has a wide distribution in warm climates. It needs a moist habitat and is usually encountered near outdoor water faucets, where the soil often remains wet. It original home is unknown but is possibly the Indo-Malayan region. Flatworms are hermaphroditic, and copulation involves mutual insemination; they may also reporduce asexually by fragmentation. The eggs are encapsulated and affixed to objects in damp places. These are benign creatures–they do not damage plants or cause any medical problems.” Your Marbled Orb Weaver photo is awesome.