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The
earthworm is the greatest living contribution to soil fertility
in the world. It is also a great source of food for birds,
turtles and other small mammals. It even makes a great fish
bait. The earthworm tunnels and eats through soil making
it into rich living earth. It makes the earth fertile for
all plant life. The earthworm lives underground and makes
complex burrows six feet or longer. The earthworms body
is two sets of muscles and it has a mucus layer around it
so that it can chew through the toughest of dirts.
The only time the earthworm leaves its underground world
is when it rains and the ground is soaked or when it comes
to the surface to mate. Earthworms have both male and female
sex organs but it cannot fertilize itself. Earthworms mate
on the surface at night. The earthworm collects the others
sperm and stores it for later use in reproduction. The earthworm
lays a cocoon with 20 or more earthworm babies in it and
these survive until the next season.
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