The Mystery of the Birth of Earthworms (10 photos)

During rainy seasons, you can encounter an impressive number of earthworms on the roads. In this article, you will learn why worms crawl out during rain and how they reproduce.





Grab your gloves and shovels, we are going to the underground world! By the way, in this photo is a giant Australian earthworm.

Look around: the sky is frowning with leaden clouds, the fresh grass is being cheerfully watered by a spring shower, and on the asphalt there are a bunch of worms! They didn’t crawl out to say hello to us. And not because they are afraid of drowning underground — worms can easily breathe even in water. The purpose of their regular promenade in the rain without an umbrella is travel. In the warm season, worms are possessed by the spirit of adventure. They move along the wet ground at a speed of 1.2 meters per minute!



Worms on the asphalt — a great name for some punk rock band.

Where are they crawling? They are looking for new horizons. And also - unrelated relatives for a close friendship of organisms! All worms are hermaphrodites - any sexually mature individual will do for reproduction. But that's the problem! When you've fallen in love with all your relatives in the area, you have to look for a new one!





I'm not afraid of either the waves or the wind!

Let's go underground to a depth of about 70 centimeters. This is where the travelers were trying to get to. There are many new acquaintances here, which means there will be a rendezvous! Let's follow that beautiful plump specimen. He recently turned 3 months old, grew 10 centimeters, and acquired a belt. This is the main sign of sexual maturity of an individual, but it's not that simple...



Ready for love and reproduction! The belt is the reproductive organ of worms.

Yes, all earthworms, and most other worms too, are hermaphrodites. They are both male and female at the same time. But this does not mean that there is complete promiscuity underground! Each individual has its own criteria for choosing a partner. When two worms meet, they carefully examine each other, assessing their size, sexual maturity, and chemical signals that tell about the health and personal characteristics of each worm. Take note: even such primitive creatures do not rely on love and miracles, but check the chosen one for professional suitability.



How to choose the one from such a pile?!

Now about mating. Let's hold a candle and see how it all happens. If the stars are aligned, the worms will "stick" together with their bellies. Thanks to the correct configuration of their bodies and a pile of mucus, the process of mutual fertilization will begin. In essence, two worms will pass genetic material to each other. It will go to the spermathecae - special reservoir organs where the semen is stored for up to 8 months. At this point, the date will end, and everyone will go their separate ways. They played the role of a father, now it's time to become a caring mother!



Turn off the light, have a conscience!

Let's move to a cozy hole. Look, something is happening! The worm's girdle is swelling! Scientifically, this part of the body is called the clitellum. For invertebrates, this is a multifunctional organ, thanks to which parents make a cradle for their children! When a worm decides to have offspring, the clitellum secretes a bunch of mucus and nutrients, which will form a cocoon. It is soft and strong at the same time. The worm lays its eggs and some seminal fluid that it received from another worm in it. One cocoon can contain from 1 to 20 eggs. And one worm can lay up to 5 cocoons at a time.



Now you know that you definitely shouldn't throw away these things that you dug up in the garden.

And what happens next? Of course, the worms do not experience any parental feelings and do not take on double responsibility, despite the fact that they are both mom and dad in one person. The last thing they do for their offspring is to seal the cocoons with mucus and turn them into capsules. This same mucus thickens, hardens and for the next few weeks in a row will reliably protect the brood inside from bacteria, fungi, drying out and other disasters. After the parent throws off the ballast and leaves the clutch forever, the magic of life happens inside the pale yellow balls: fertilization occurs, and the embryos begin to actively develop.



Hooray, I became a mom! And a dad!

If it's warm outside, the worms will be ready to see the world in 4 weeks. If the weather is bad, their development will stop for an indefinite period - until it gets warmer again. In experiments, such time capsules with worm babies on board were in a waiting state for more than 2 years! Now you know for sure that not only cockroaches, but also earthworms will survive the nuclear winter.



Earthworm cocoons are even sold on Avito!

At first, the baby worms feed on the mucus inside the cocoon - a kind of caring last gift from mom and dad. When it runs out, the young diggers will hatch out and begin to conquer the underground spaces. And our final station - the miracle of birth! Let's move forward 4 weeks: the weather was warm all this time, and the babies in the cocoon were developing quickly. Something is moving... Yes, this is the first worm breaking through!



I was born!

Just look, it's so tiny. About 2 centimeters, no more. And thin, like a hair. He will have to eat a lot and grow quickly - in just 10-12 weeks this little one will reach the size of an adult! But then we will leave him. Let him develop and reproduce as much as possible! Without earthworms, our land would not be so flourishing and fertile.