Earthworm Reproduction

You see them anywhere near your house, and the first thing you would probably do is scream and kill it. That's the fate of this nature friendly creature, the earthworm. Before killing them, have you ever stopped and wondered how these worms are born? How they reproduce? I am sure you haven't, as the only thing whirling in your head that time is how to get rid of the creepy, crawly worm. If you would have asked me a year back the same question, I would have probably been in the same boat as you are in right now. But now the situation is different. After gathering enough knowledge about earthworm reproduction, I think twice before killing these amazing creatures. So let me take the pleasure of sharing my knowledge with you.

Earthworm Reproductive System

Earthworms are hermaphrodites, i.e. each have complex male and female reproductive organs. But surprisingly, irrespective of this, the earthworms cross fertilize, as they cannot impregnate them self. They have the clitella, which helps them to exchange the sperms. The sperms are produced within the testes which are located in the seminal vesicles. These sperms are now stored temporarily in the sperm receptacles. Later they are transferred to the male gonopores through the vas deferens. Now let us see the female reproductive structure in the earthworm reproductive system. This system consists of a pair of ovaries, which are situated in the 13th segment of the earthworm. These ovaries are connected to the female gonopores, with the help of small passageways.

Reproduction Process

During this process, two earthworms comes together from opposite directions in a way so that their clitellums are in contact with segment number 9 to 11 of their partner (the average earthworm has 100 segments which are called the Musurca). The clitellum is the place where the fertilization actually takes place. It is located about one-third way down the worm's body. This clitellum produces a mucus which hold the two earthworms together, so that during the exchange of the sperms, the connection doesn't break. Once the sperm is received, they are stored in the seminal receptacles. Now the oviduct opens up in the 30th segment, and once the eggs are made, they are stored here in the oviduct. The clitellum in each worm, now produces a mucous cocoon, which slides along the body of the worm, picking up the eggs and the sperms from the female gonopores and male gonopores respectively, and then it slips out of the worm's head. It is within this cocoon that the embryo develops. The cocoon consists of enough nutrients to feed the embryos for a while. Each cocoon consists of nearly 2 to 15 embryos. These cocoons usually hatch within the next 4 to 6 weeks, and within a span of 6 to 8 weeks they are sexually matured.

After reading about the article, I guess like me, you would like to know more about some facts like why do earthworms come out in the rain, how are they a farmer's best friend, how do they help us in curing various illness, what do they eat, and how many hearts they have, etc. Learn about these wonderful worms as they are a lot more than just creepy, crawly creatures! So the next time you see an earthworm, think twice before you slap it dead with your slippers.