Marvelous Earthworms

What has no eyes and is blind, no ears and cannot hear, breathes through its skin and has the strength to dig tunnels throughout its life? Well, it is earth's best friend, the earthworm.

There are approximately 50,000 earthworms per acre of moist soil. They live in deep, dark, long, and narrow tunnels or burrows under the ground, away from the Sun and the heat. If they want to get a breath of fresh air, then night time will be the best time for them to surface. Many will leave their burrows when it rains as they might drown if their tunnels are overflooded.

Although many children will squirm at the sight of the wriggly creatures, earthworms are friends of gardeners and farmers. Earthworms help them grow better flowers, crops and plants by bringing organic debris into their burrows from the surface and by eating their way through the soil.

The leaf litter that can be found on the surface of the ground are comprised of dead leaves and animals. These will be digested by the earthworms as they are excellent sources of nutrients made by plants during photosynthesis. Calcium, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and organic minerals are found in dead leaves. Nutrients from dead animals contribute to the earthworms' diet too.

It may come to a surprise to you but it is actually the earthworms' excrement or waste product, called castings, that is deposited on the surface of the ground, that is rich in nutrients. These castings provide food for other animals and microorganisms. This organic material is then further broken down by microorganisms of the soil, releasing nutrients in a farm available for absorption by plants.

In this way, earthworms help produce fertile soil that is essential for the growth of plants. Isn't that a fantastic way of recycling? Nothing goes to waste! Even when earthworms die, they continue to contribute to the fertility of the soil by decomposing and releasing additional nutrients for plants.

Earthworms move by lengthening and shortening their bodies. Their mouths are at the pointy end in front. And though they have no eyes, they possess light-sensitive cells and can 'sense' light. Even though they cannot hear, they can fell vibrations of animals moving nearby.

Have you seen a bird trying to pull an earthworm out of the ground? The earthworm will try to hold on tight to the wall of its home using bristles found on the underside of its body. However, if the bird's pull is really strong, then the earthworm will be torn into two. The bird gets half and the hind end will wriggle back into its burrow and the lost part is regenerated. In fact, if a worm is pulled in half, the head end will grow back.

In this way, we will never have to worry about earthworms becoming extinct!