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Earthworms are HERMAPHRODITES, which means that every individual has both male
and female sexual organs.
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Although every worm can have babies,
they still need to find a partner in order to mate or
reproduce. They
mate by joining their CLITELLA
(swollen area near the head
of a mature worm) and exchanging
sperm.
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Under favourable conditions worms breed
every 7 to 10 days and can double their population every 90
days. If there are too many worms they
stop breeding.
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Baby worms are hatched from a cocoon
smaller than a grain of rice. Up to
ten worms can come from one cocoon.
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Worms have a healthy appetite and can eat up
to half their body weight in food a day. If they have insufficient
food they shrink.
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Their bodies are made up almost
entirely of water (more than 90%), and their form and shape is
maintained by what is termed a HYDROSTATIC skeleton.
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Although they do not have eyes and prefer
the darkness, they are still able to sense light and the front
end and will shun away from it. Worms are cold blooded
animals
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Earthworms breathe through their skins.
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For the
exchange or diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the worm
body and the atmosphere, the skin of the worm has to be
moist.
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Too much
moisture and the worms will drown.
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There are
over 3000 species of earthworms in the worlds and some can live as
long as 15 years.
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Earthworms possess amazing regeneration
power. When cut
into halves, the head portion will grow a new tail. The tail end will not,
however, grow a new head. Cutting
the worm will not produce more worms, but will probably kill the
head portion as well and too many of the vital organs will be
lost.
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Though earthworms have no bones,
their complex system of muscles enables them to not only
wiggle like crazy but also to very quickly alternate between
being stubby and thick, and long and slender.
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Earthworms possess tiny, practically
invisible bristles, called SETAE
(pronounced SEE-tee; singular form seta, pronounced SEE-tah),
which usually are held inside their bodies. When the worms
want to stay in their burrows, they jab their setae into the
surrounding dirt, thus anchoring themselves in place. This
comes in handy if a bird nabs a worm's head and tries to pull
the worm from its burrow. The setae anchor the worm so well
that it may break before coming out.
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Earthworms possess five hearts. The
calciferous glands between the hearts manage excess calcium in
the worm's diet, a problem you may have if you eat a lot of
dirt.
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Earthworms are not only good for recycling
organic
matter, but are also great mixers of the different
layers of soil.
Their tunnels allow air and water
to reach plant roots. They also have the ability to neutralize
viruses and bacteria found in decaying
matter.
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Worms create a microbe rich environment
through the release
of enzymes and growth like hormones as well as the secretion of chitinous oil
which suppresses invasive insects.
