Quiz: Worms

Bulletin of 14 May 2026

  1. The world’s largest earthworm, Megascolides australis (aka karmai) can reportedly grow up to three metres long. Where in Australia would you find it?
    AnswerGippsland, Victoria.
  2. Who spent 40 years studying the role of earthworms in soil formation, and published his findings in a book titled The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms?
    AnswerCharles Darwin.
  3. Where would you find the giant, fictional worm known reverentially as Shai-Hulud?
    AnswerOn the planet Arrakis (aka Dune).
  4. Hypolimnus pedderensis was the first species of earthworm recorded to have been sent extinct by human activities. Where did it live?
    AnswerLake Pedder, Tasmania.
  5. What is the missing word in William Blake’s famous short poem: “O Rose thou art sick / The … worm / That flies in the night / In the howling storm / Has found out thy bed / Of crimson joy / And his dark secret love / Does thy life destroy.”
    AnswerInvisible.

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