worm grunting

"Worm grunting" is a curious but popular practice for harvesting earthworms in Florida's Apalachicola National Forest. To summon earthworms to the surface, worm grunters drive a wooden stake into the soil and vibrate it. Panicked worms pour out of the ground and thousands can be gathered in just a few hours. Lifelong worm grunters (and there are families that have been professional worm grunters for multiple generations) have a variety of theories regarding the underlying mechanisms of their trade. However, Kenneth Catania, a researcher from Vanderbilt, has come up with an explanation to this…