Today vast stretches of land have been developed, and pesticides have been badly overused in cultivated areas. Earthworms are highly vulnerable to sudden acute poisoning, "so that in many hectares of farmland, you couldn't find a single worm," says Huang, who worked hard with Kuo looking for the creatures in agricultural areas in Hsinchu.
今天廣闊土地被開發；保麗龍等無機垃圾日益增多；蔬菜、農作專業區濫用農藥，黃益田與郭登志曾為了做實驗，在新竹的農業區尋覓蚯蚓，忙碌半天，收穫卻不多。「還好有人養蚯蚓來當魚餌出售」，郭登志說。