WHAT DO EARTHWORMS DO?

THREE TYPES OF EARTHWORMS

EARTHWORM BIOLOGY

Where To Find Information About Earthworms

USDA

Worm your way through these questions! NRCS

EARTHWORMS: THATCH-BUSTERS 

NC St. U- "Raising Earthworms Successfully"

PA St. U - Earthworm

Vermiculture : Texas State University

Earthworm Digest.org

Different Types of Earthworms with Pictures & Facts | Trees.com

How to Use Nightcrawlers to Compost (gardenguides.com)

Where to buy worms and supplies

unclejimswormfarm.com

buckeyeorganics.net

 Midwest Worms

While this website is a commercial site it does have a lot of good information.

There is a cute, easy game for young kids too.

UNCO Industries Inc.

WHAT DO EARTHWORMS DO?

This is from USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service

Earthworms dramatically alter soil structure, water movement, nutrient dynamics, and plant growth. They are not essential to all healthy soil systems, but their presence is usually an indicator of a healthy system. Earthworms perform several beneficial functions.

Stimulate microbial activity. Although earthworms derive their nutrition from microorganisms, many more microorganisms are present in their feces or casts than in the organic matter that they consume. As organic matter passes through their intestines, it is fragmented and inoculated with microorganisms. Increased microbial activity facilitates the cycling of nutrients from organic matter and their conversion into forms readily taken up by plants.

Mix and aggregate soil. As they consume organic matter and mineral particles, earthworms excrete wastes in the form of casts, a type of soil aggregate. It has been calculated that earthworms can move large amounts of soil from the lower strata to the surface and also carry organic matter down into deeper soil layers. A large proportion of soil passes through the guts of earthworms, and they can turn over the top six inches of soil in ten to twenty years.

Increase infiltration. Earthworms enhance porosity as they move through the soil. Some species make permanent burrows deep into the soil. These burrows can persist long after the inhabitant has died, and can be a major conduit for soil drainage, particularly under heavy rainfall. At the same time, the burrows minimize surface water erosion. The horizontal burrowing of other species in the top several inches of soil increases overall porosity and drainage.

Improve water-holding capacity. By fragmenting organic matter, and increasing soil porosity and aggregation, earthworms can significantly increase the water-holding capacity of soils.

Provide channels for root growth. The channels made by deep-burrowing earthworms are lined with readily available nutrients and make it easier for roots to penetrate deep into the soil.

Bury and shred plant residue. Plant and crop residue are gradually buried by cast material deposited on the surface and as earthworms pull surface residue into their burrows.

THREE TYPES OF EARTHWORMS

1. Litter dwellers or epigeic species live in crop or forest litter. They are not common in most agricultural soils. These species do not ingest large amounts of soil. The manure or red worm, Eisenia foetida, is an example of a litter dweller.

2. Topsoil dwellers or endogeic species live in the upper 2 to 3 inches of the soil. They live primarily from partially decomposed organic matter that is already incorporated in the soil. They eat their way through the soil, creating horizontal burrows that they fill with their excrement. These species ingest large amounts of soil that they mix with digested crop residue in their guts.

3. Subsoil dwellers or anecic species live in permanent vertical burrows that can be 5 or 6 feet deep. These earthworms need surface crop residue to live. Their burrows remain open, although they cap the top with crop residue that they pull to the entrance. These species ingest substantial amounts of soil that they mix with digested residue in their guts. Their excrement is primarily deposited at the surface of the soil. The nightcrawler Lumbricus terrestris is the most prominent member of this group.

EARTHWORM BIOLOGY

Earthworms are invertebrates composed of many segments (Fig. 1). They don’t have bones and move by contracting and relaxing the body segments in sequence. They also have little bristlelike organs that help them cling to slippery surfaces. Most earthworms have both male and female organs. Typically, however, they still need a partner to reproduce. When earthworms mate, they lay side by side in reverse position. At that moment they exchange sperm. The sperm of the partner is stored in little chambers called spermathecal apertures. These are positioned in front of the egg-producing organs. After mating, the swollen external gland, called clitellum, produces egg cases called cocoons. A cocoon case slides slowly forward, picking up eggs and sperm as it moves over the head of the earthworm. From 3 to 1,000 cocoons can be produced per year, depending on species and environmental conditions. Typically, an earthworm will produce 20 to 30 cocoons per year, with each cocoon containing 1 to 10 eggs. Peak cocoon production is in the spring or early summer. The eggs in the cocoons hatch when conditions are right. Under ideal conditions, it may take from 1 to 5 months for the eggs to hatch. It may then take from 3 to 12 months before these worms are sexually mature. Worms typically live only a few months because of the many environmental threats they face. They have been observed to live for 10 years in a protected environment. In a favorable environment previously without earthworms, earthworm populations increased 80-fold in 4 years after introduction.