Earthworms are Unique
by Owen Borville
July 1, 2020
Biology
Earthworms are uniquely designed creatures that help fertilize the soil and are important to the ecosystem. Earthworms eat dirt and decaying leaves and can and consume one third of their body weight in a single day.
They have no eyes, ears, arms or legs but are sensitive to vibrations. Even though worms don’t have eyes, they can sense light, especially at their anterior (front end). They move away from light and will become paralyzed if exposed to light for too long (approximately one hour).
Their brain connects to nerves from their skin and muscles. Earthworms have no lungs and breathe through their skin and breathe air in and carbon dioxide out. The earthworm also has a heart to pump blood, a circulatory system, and a digestive system with an esophagus, stomach, and intestines. Earthworms come in all sizes and they are cold blooded. If a worm's skin dries out it will die and needs moist skin in order to breathe. It cannot stand ultra-violet radiation and cannot stay in the sunlight, therefore only comes to the surface when the sun is not out or not shining brightly.
Worms live where there is food, moisture, oxygen and a favorable temperature. If they don’t have these things, they will go somewhere else. In one acre of land, there can be more than a million earthworms.
An earthworm in Australia was measured at one inch in diameter and grows to 10-12 feet long.
The Australian Gippsland Earthworm grows to 12 feet long and can weigh 1-1/2 pounds.
The largest earthworm ever found was in South Africa and measured 22 feet from its nose to the tip of its tail.
The average earthworm is 6-8 inches long.
If you try to grab an earthworm from the ground they can go in reverse and pull back into their hole. Strong hair-like features on their bodies help position themselves in the soil. They crawl forward and reverse and their bodies are like a tube of muscle running both lengthwise and widthwise.
Earthworms fertilize the earth and are important for soil fertility and therefore important to farms and gardens.
Earthworms spend most of their time underground and create complex burrow networks over 2 meters into the ground.
Their front end is pointed and firm, helping the worm push through the soil.
The earthworm spits on the earth in front of it and softens it up or eats earth in front of it in order to move along.
Worms tunnel deeply in the soil and bring subsoil closer to the surface mixing it with the topsoil. Slime, a secretion of earthworms, contains nitrogen, an important nutrient for plants. The sticky slime helps to hold clusters of soil particles together in formations called aggregates. Anchor hairs or bristles on its body help the worm move along with a slippery mucus covering that helps it slide underground and stay moist.
Earthworms are hermaphrodites. Each worm has both male and female organs but they cannot fertilize themselves. Worms mate by joining their clitella (swollen area near the head of a mature worm) and exchanging sperm. Then each worm forms an egg capsule in its clitellum. Earthworms are attracted to each other by scent. Baby worms hatch from eggs in cocoons smaller than a grain of rice.
Moles eat earthworms and bite off their head but somehow they stay alive and regrow their head, tail, and other body segments if broken off. The earthworm was uniquely designed to survive in its environment and contribute to the ecosystem.
by Owen Borville
July 1, 2020
Biology
Earthworms are uniquely designed creatures that help fertilize the soil and are important to the ecosystem. Earthworms eat dirt and decaying leaves and can and consume one third of their body weight in a single day.
They have no eyes, ears, arms or legs but are sensitive to vibrations. Even though worms don’t have eyes, they can sense light, especially at their anterior (front end). They move away from light and will become paralyzed if exposed to light for too long (approximately one hour).
Their brain connects to nerves from their skin and muscles. Earthworms have no lungs and breathe through their skin and breathe air in and carbon dioxide out. The earthworm also has a heart to pump blood, a circulatory system, and a digestive system with an esophagus, stomach, and intestines. Earthworms come in all sizes and they are cold blooded. If a worm's skin dries out it will die and needs moist skin in order to breathe. It cannot stand ultra-violet radiation and cannot stay in the sunlight, therefore only comes to the surface when the sun is not out or not shining brightly.
Worms live where there is food, moisture, oxygen and a favorable temperature. If they don’t have these things, they will go somewhere else. In one acre of land, there can be more than a million earthworms.
An earthworm in Australia was measured at one inch in diameter and grows to 10-12 feet long.
The Australian Gippsland Earthworm grows to 12 feet long and can weigh 1-1/2 pounds.
The largest earthworm ever found was in South Africa and measured 22 feet from its nose to the tip of its tail.
The average earthworm is 6-8 inches long.
If you try to grab an earthworm from the ground they can go in reverse and pull back into their hole. Strong hair-like features on their bodies help position themselves in the soil. They crawl forward and reverse and their bodies are like a tube of muscle running both lengthwise and widthwise.
Earthworms fertilize the earth and are important for soil fertility and therefore important to farms and gardens.
Earthworms spend most of their time underground and create complex burrow networks over 2 meters into the ground.
Their front end is pointed and firm, helping the worm push through the soil.
The earthworm spits on the earth in front of it and softens it up or eats earth in front of it in order to move along.
Worms tunnel deeply in the soil and bring subsoil closer to the surface mixing it with the topsoil. Slime, a secretion of earthworms, contains nitrogen, an important nutrient for plants. The sticky slime helps to hold clusters of soil particles together in formations called aggregates. Anchor hairs or bristles on its body help the worm move along with a slippery mucus covering that helps it slide underground and stay moist.
Earthworms are hermaphrodites. Each worm has both male and female organs but they cannot fertilize themselves. Worms mate by joining their clitella (swollen area near the head of a mature worm) and exchanging sperm. Then each worm forms an egg capsule in its clitellum. Earthworms are attracted to each other by scent. Baby worms hatch from eggs in cocoons smaller than a grain of rice.
Moles eat earthworms and bite off their head but somehow they stay alive and regrow their head, tail, and other body segments if broken off. The earthworm was uniquely designed to survive in its environment and contribute to the ecosystem.
