Urgent garden warning as destructive worms from Europe and Africa to ‘invade’ UK

Scientists say that globalisation is to blame for animal and plant species being found in different regions of the world. Often seeing the invasive species jumping from one country to another can cause disastrous consequences.

As a result, 10 species of flatworms have burrowed their way around the world, piggybacking off the plant trade.

Among these are the Obama nungara, originally from Argentina and Bipalium kewense from Southeast Asia.

In addition, Platydemus manokwari which originates in New Guinea has also been located in other parts of the world.

These “alien species” can threaten the biodiversity of their new homes, and also flatworms prey on other soil dwellers like earthworms, slugs and snails.

Since then, scientists in Paris have warned that two new flatworms species could wreak havoc on native plant and animal species across the country.

Author Professor Jean-Lou Justine at the National History Museum in Paris said: “Due to the pandemic, during the lockdowns most of us were home, with our laboratory closed.

“No field expeditions were possible.

“I convinced my colleagues to gather all the information we had about these flatworms, do the computer analyses, and finally write this very long paper.

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“We decided to name one of the species “covidum”, paying homage to the victims of the pandemic.”

This first species, named Humbertium covidum, has been found in two gardens in France and Italy.

The flatworm was found in two gardens on the Atlantic side of the French Pyrenees and the Italian region of Veneto., amid fears they could also spread to the UK.

Hammerhead flatworms can grow up to 3.2 feet long [1 metre] and have a distinct broader head compared to other species.

The Humbertium covidum uncovered by the scientists was around 30mm in length and uniformly metallic black.

The colour of the species is particularly significant as it’s an unusual one among hammerhead flatworms.

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Genetic analysis carried out on the worm’s intestine uncovered that it had snacked on small snails and was likely to originate from Asia.

While the second new species, named Diversibipalium mayottensism, was discovered on the French island of Mayotte, located in the Mozambique Channel of the Indian Ocean.

The species was the same length as the Humbertium covidum, but was much more colourful.

The species Diversibipalium mayottensism features a spectacular green-blue iridescence over a brown earth colour.

Research into the species found that it was a sister group of all other hammerhead flatworms, making it of special interest for understanding its evolution.

Scientists believe it may originate from Madagascar and been brought to Mayotte by people in the past.

Researchers have warned that these two new species could potentially spread to other parts of the world.

They warn that if this happens, the worms pose a major threat to their biodiversity.

If this happens, researchers warn this could have a knock-on effect on the local economy, by damaging crop yields and increasing management costs.

Professor Jean-Lou Justine’s findings were published in the Open Access journal PeerJ.