All Worms Are NOT Created Equal: A Look at Earthworms, Black Cutworms and Stem Nematodes

The word “worm”, defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “any of numerous relatively small elongated usually naked and soft-bodied animals”, is used to refer to many of the pests that plague turf managers. Yet although they share a common body shape, organisms commonly referred to as worms—including earthworms, caterpillars and nematodes—are not closely related to one another, and are managed in very different ways. In this issue of PACE Insights, we will review the biology of some of the key “worm”…