Earthworms Garden Earth Worm Factory and Wormeries in your Garden

The Earthworm:

Earthworms



The Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems Earthworms were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female. Theoretical cladistic studies have placed them instead in the suborder Lumbricina of the order Haplotaxida, but this may again soon change. Folk names for the earthworm include "dew-worm", "rainworm", "night crawler" and "angleworm".
Earthworms are also called megadriles (big worms), as opposed to the microdriles - or small worms - in the families Tubificidae, Lumbriculidae, and Enchytraeidae, among others. The megadriles are characterized by having a multilayered clitellum, a vascular system with true capillaries, and male pores are behind the female pores.
Biological. In many soils, earthworms play a major role in converting large pieces of organic matter into rich humus, and thus improving soil fertility. This is achieved by the worm's actions of pulling down below any organic matter deposited on the dried dirt, such as leaf fall or manure, either for food or when it needs to plug its burrow. Once in the burrow, the worm will shred the leaf and partially digest it, then mingle it with the earth by saturating it with intestinal secretions. Worm casts can contain 40% more humus than the top 9" of soil in which the worm is living.

 





























Aknowlegements for some text and images to wikipedia.org