Tug of War
Posted by Erin Savial on June 17, 2003
Q: Do worms have live babies? What is their reproduction like?
A: Earthworms lay eggs, they do not give birth to live young.
Each earthworm is both a male and female. When two mate, each fertilizes the eggs of the other and then a kind of cocoon is shed from each that contains the eggs. The eggs hatch in 2 to 3 weeks and the young look like tiny versions of the adults. Although we usually don't see the babies when we're looking for worms, try digging in some good garden soil and examine the soil for young worms. You'll have to look very carefully but you should be able to find worms that are tiny, small, medium and large.
John Wiessinger ( June 18, 2003)
Filed under: Creepy-Crawlies