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Post by tbird on Apr 10, 2015 8:47:33 GMT -5
It got pretty warm and humid late yesterday afternoon, so I took some protection off some experiments I have going on in the yard....the expected low last night was 44, and I forgot to put the protections back on until about 10 pm ish. so I went out with a flash light to do so...
There were these HUGE worms! Huge! Like 18" they seemed. And they were up top, not hiding at all. They moved pretty quick out of sight when I flashed them. Ha ha - they scared me too!
What were they doing up there? We had had a lot of rain earlier in the day - are they always up top at night?
And they were so big and fast moving - I got worried that I had the "wrong" worms.....but all worms are good, right?
What is your worm knowledge? Let us know!
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 10, 2015 8:54:05 GMT -5
I have almost no worm knowledge but aren't they what the fishermen call "night crawlers"?
I do know that worms burrows get flooded when it rains and they come up for air but I don't think that is what you are seeing.
We have been having rain off and on for 3 days and I rescue the worms that mistakenly crawl onto my driveway and I throw them back onto the flower beds. The biggest ones I saw yesterday were about 8 inches long and I thought that they were big!
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Post by davidjp on Apr 10, 2015 8:56:08 GMT -5
The standard European earthworm lumbricus terrestris or nightcrawler does come out at night from its burrows and often searches for leaves to pull down into its burrow, you can often see the end of a leaf sticking out from the ground. They can be pretty big. If the ground was very waterlogged they will also want to escape drowning by coming to the surface as well, I suspect that was the main reason.
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Post by tbird on Apr 10, 2015 9:15:31 GMT -5
oh my! That term is making a lot more sense now! I am a worm rescuer too! I try to save all I can on the sidewalks when walking my dog. I moved my leaf protection off my seed beds just now, and saw a big worm butt heading down. I had been a bit worried about those large holes I was seeing in the mornings - not knowing the causes. Now - it is the worms and I can rest easy about my buried seeds. Did also find a slug while moving the leaves. Sadly - he is no longer with us.... I guess it is a good sign I only saw 1....
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Post by James on Apr 10, 2015 10:56:57 GMT -5
Worms, yes especially the large ones called "Nite Crawlers" come up to the surface at night. They will stretch out but often have their tail in the burrow. If disturbed they can retract very quickly to the burrow. This is when they mate with other worms. Worms have both male and female parts, but they do get together to exchange sperm. Sometimes during wet rains or irrigation, they will come right out and travel some to new diggins. Yep, many an evening have I spent with the kids catching "Nite Crawlers" for fishing. The kids sold them. Good money maker for some spending coins for the kids. You get a lantern and go stealthily along watching for a worm. When one is spotted you must make a quick grab for it, as it is likely to retract before you get to it.
The worms burrow in the soil and lift it and aerate it because of their burrowing. They eat dead plant debris and in so doing fertilize the soil with their excrement. It is well to encourage earthworms in our soils.
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Post by davidjp on Apr 10, 2015 12:01:53 GMT -5
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Post by ncgarden on Apr 10, 2015 15:08:03 GMT -5
brownrexx - my hens do not care for earthworms, do yours?
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Apr 10, 2015 16:02:59 GMT -5
Also, isn't that how robins get their food? I thought it was natural to come to the surface in the evening anyway...part of their job to aerate the soil...never thought the reason was love!! It'll get you every time!
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 10, 2015 16:15:07 GMT -5
brownrexx - my hens do not care for earthworms, do yours? Yes, mine love them. When they are out free ranging, finding a worm is a big treat and when one finds a worm all of the others chase it until one ends up eating it. Sometimes the one who found the worm drops it and another one is quick to gobble it up. It's good entertainment for us.
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Post by ncgarden on Apr 10, 2015 18:02:32 GMT -5
I must have the oddest hens in the world. Now, give them one of those japanese beetle grubs or a June bug, and they have a field day.
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 10, 2015 19:52:23 GMT -5
Mine love Japanese beetles but turn up their beaks at Colorado potato beetles and stinkbugs (can you blame them?).
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Post by Mumsey on Apr 11, 2015 3:49:56 GMT -5
Nightcrawlers, yup! They get lovey-dovey at night. When I was a kid we would go out all night and gather them. Back then you could go in anyone's yard anywhere in town and be safe. A 3 lb coffee can (back when it was actually 3 lb), fetched $5.00 at the bait shop. We even had to walk the extra 10 blocks or so to get to the bait shop. That can could hold 500 crawlers. We thought we were rich! You have to be quick to grab them, we were pretty good at it. The trick is not to shine light on them too long, they don't seem to like it.
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Post by kimmsrđź•Š on Apr 11, 2015 6:14:35 GMT -5
Earthworms can be indicators of a good healthy soil, but are the last members of the Soil Food Web to move into a soil. When earthworms come to the surface after a soaking rain they are coming up for air and they will do that even in the daytime. They seldom will crawl out of the soil on a bright sunny day since that could cook them, however.
In some ecosystems earthworms may be invasive, while in others they will not be. There are some 1,800 species of earthworms and most are known as restorers of agro ecosystems, if they are allowed to do their work.
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Post by armjr on Apr 14, 2015 21:42:06 GMT -5
Did you ever see that movie, "Tremors"?
Alan
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Post by ncgarden on Apr 15, 2015 15:15:17 GMT -5
armjr - I have had nightmares for years from that movie. Bad movie, stupid effects and premise, but it has really impacted my subconscious!!
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