Hammerhead worm

[Kevin_PR]

I found what is called a hammerhead worm, Bipalium kewense, on my chids as I was checking them for snails after an late evening shower. I read that they are actually a predatory planarian. They are said to eat earthworms, snails, slugs, and insect larvae. I found 4 individuals all less than 2" long. All were found on my mounted orchids, so there are no earthworms to eat. I am hopefully assuming that they are eating my snails. I tried to confirm this but failed. I put a snail in the path of one of these bad looking guys, the snail freaked out and let go, falling to the ground and taking the predatory worm with it. I also observed a different individual scoop up a small, pinhead sized baby snail. It passed the snail down to the mid of its body where the mouth is but I disturbed them and it went on its way. Can anyone confirm that this species eats snails? They are really interesting to watch as they quickly glide over surfaces. They are not native to this island but I read they are not harmful to native species.