This trick will help you summon an army of worms

In the Florida's Apalachicola National Park, a strange seemingly mysterious scene is unfolding. By sliding a strip of metal over a stake of wood and a master summoner emits high-pitched croaking sounds echoing through the region. As if in the trance, thousands of earthworms start emerging out of the earth. It's worm grunting often referred to as worm-charming or fiddling. This is a custom that's been in use for over 100 years, yet its inner workings remained unexplored until recently.

Worms collaborating to complete an underground escape seems incredible given the risk it makes them. What is the reason surfacing is worthwhile? Over the years, scientists have offered a range of fantastical theories. One theory was that worms were somehow enticed by the sound as did the rats from the medieval Pied Piper legend. It sounds like good, but how did the worms be enticed?

Another possibility was that the worms noises irritated their bodies, thus they emerged to stop the pain. Whimsical! However, a worm's grunting vibrations vibrate the surface of the ground. If worms could elude the vibrations, wouldn't they have burrowed deeper? The most widely-repeated theory was that worms grunting echoed falling rain , and the worms fled in order to keep from drowning. In 2008 the scientist Kenneth Catania tested this hypothesis by constructing three arenas containing dirt and 300 other individuals from the massive earthworm species that are that are found within the Florida Panhandle.

After about an hour of rain it was evident that water had collected on the surface, however there were only 2 earthworms that emerged. The rest remained in the ground and healthy. In contrast to those containers, this theory did not have water. Catania chose to look at a different avenue of investigation. The year 1881 was the time that Charles Darwin published his final book, a bestseller that rivaled his best-known books of the time: "The Formation of Vegetable Mould by The Action of Worms, with observations on their habits." It was actually called that-It was also the culmination of over 40 years of research into earthworms.

In it, Darwin noted that worms often left their burrows when the ground shakes and trembles. He also suggested an intriguing theory: perhaps they flee because they feel they're being chased by moles. Catania began to test this theory for himself. He discovered that Eastern moles had remarkable ability to track, and could consume their weight in worms on a daily basis and were common within areas like the Florida Panhandle. When Catania released one mole into worm and soil-filled arenas 30 percent of the worms walked towards the surface within the first hour, an entirely different outcome from the rain tests.

When he recorded the sound waves produced by worms and moles digging in the soil, their frequencies matched up significantly. This is what he observed. In the course of hundreds of thousands years, earthworms developed an instinct that allowed them to avoid a predator that was a major threat. In the air, they are invulnerable to moles. They typically remained in below the surface. However, humans were introduced. Incredibly, humans aren't the only ones who benefit from this behaviour. Wood turtles and Herring Gulls are also known to beat their feet against the ground to draw worms. What is the reason for this behaviour persist? Researchers believe it's beneficial for predators to continue its adaptations to a more common predator even though it exposes it to a less frequent predator.

A lot of insects, like fly to avoid being eaten. Redstarts with painted wings take advantage of this. They boldly display their vibrant tail and wings to trigger this reaction, and then capture the insects in their attempts to flee. It appears that the predator species' response is simply because it's useful for the most part. Since the beginning of time humans from the southern US as well as the UK as well as elsewhere have been unaware of the worm's escape reaction. The current record in the world for "most worms that are charmed" is set by an aged 10 British girl in the year 2009. By putting a fork into the ground, and then hitting the ground with a wooden stick she smashed 567 worms within 30 minutes. Charming, really.