They’re not the most exciting or beautiful garden creatures, nor the ones we want to spend much time with but they are valuable and fascinating creatures.
Common Earthworm: Sue Kennedy (rspb-images.com)
Although earthworms famously have both male and female reproductive organs, they don't reproduce alone, they mate with another worm. They grip their bodies together with microscopic bristles and join onto each other’s opposing reproductive organs. If you go outside on a warm, wet night, you may see this happening. Not that there’s much activity, they stay together clinging on and mating for approximately 1 -3 hours!
They form a liquid tube around each of themselves that will hold the combined sperm and eggs. After mating they wriggle out of these tubes which contract into a tiny lemon shaped cocoon that will fertilise and house the eggs. Approximately three to six weeks later the new worms will hatch.
Young worms have not yet developed their clitellum; the thick band that houses the reproductive organs which is about a third of the way along their body from the fatter- head end of the worm. This takes a few weeks to develop and then the worm is mature and able to reproduce.
Worms are a great benefit to the garden. They eat decaying plant matter and their excretions are full of nutrients for the soil. They are also moving around in the earth all the time, loosening it up and allowing water, air and nutrients to move around helping the roots of plants to get what they need more easily.
…and what about cut /chopped worms re-growing? Well, unfortunately, a worm cut in two will not become two worms but the head end may be able to regrow its tail end and survive. A remaining tail end will just die, it can’t grow a new head part of the body with all the vital organs
There are three main categories of earthworm we find in the garden that live in the soil, leaf litter or in the compost and they can live between one to nine years depending on the species and the situation.
You can download this beautiful factsheet from Wild about gardens if you’d like to find out more basic information about worms and what species may be in your garden.
The Flatford Wildlife Garden is still currently closed. Details of re-opening in Spring 2021 will be posted on this blog and the Flatford Wildlife Garden Website.