The Tiny But Mighty Earth Worm

Okay okay, I know they’re not the prettiest creature I could have selected for my article, nor the most character full or lovable but they are without doubt one of the hardest working and most important species for taking care of our natural world. I give you the tiny but might earth worm! So why are they so important? Well by their activity in the soil, earthworms offer many benefits: increased nutrient availability, better drainage, and a more stable soil structure, all of which help improve farm productivity. Worms feed on plant debris (dead roots, leaves, grasses, manure) and soil and a healthy garden should be full of these guys in your dirt. An unhealthy environment would be one with no worms! Worryingly studies have shown that us humans throwing plastic into the earth seems to be altering the very fabric of the soil and this seems to be killing off worms and other much needed insects and bugs.

Arguably without earthworms in our soils, life could vanish pretty quickly. We would

have less food, more pollution, and more flooding. No matter how cute a panda looks, it is Darwin's “lowly” earthworms that are doing dirty, but crucial, work in the soil below. You can encourage your garden to have lots of worms by making sure you have real grass! None of that horrid fake stuff please, that helps nothing. Have plenty of plants as this will encourage a wide range of animals and insects to your little nature zone. Don’t litter and if you are into planting and gardening then why not have a nice compost heap and lots of fresh soil around your plant beds. The worms will thank you for it!

They are really pretty amazing little things and so hard working sorting through all that

soil. They can live for up to 8 years! And they grow sex organs within the first two or three months of life and reach full size in about a year. Earthworms are hermaphrodites which mean that each carries male and female sex organs. As invertebrates, they lack a true skeleton, but maintain their structure with fluid-filled coelom chambers that function as a hydro-static skeleton. The typical length of an earth worm varies but it is usually around 10mm to 30mm long. And what about these for fun wormy facts: Worms breathe through their skin! There are approximately 2,700 different kinds of earthworms. Worms live where there is food, moisture, oxygen and a favourable temperature. If they don't have these things, they go somewhere else.

And a study done discovered that in one acre of land, there can be more than a million earthworms. Now you can’t tell me that isn’t extremely impressive? So there you have the tiny but mighty earth worm! Certainly not a looker but boy we do not want to be without these little guys, our earth needs them and we need them!