CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How earthworms reproduce

How earthworms reproduce:

Earthworms mate mostly by crossbreeding, and some species reproduce parthenogenetically. Under normal conditions, they can reproduce throughout the country, except in cold winters or droughts. During mating, two earthworms approach each other head-on, and the ventral surface of the front part of the annulus makes full contact.

The heads intertwine, and the semen is discharged from the male's genital hole and then enters the other's spermatheca for storage. After the semen is exchanged and mating is completed, the two earthworms separate. The mating process can last for several hours, and they will not separate even when disturbed.

Then the tiny cells of the reproductive belt secrete milky white mucus into the egg cocoon. The mucus tube formed by the annulus gradually moves toward the head. When the mucus tube moves to the female hole, the mature eggs are laid by the oviduct into the protein in the cocoon, and the semen is ejected into the cocoon from the spermatheca hole.

Finally, the cocoon membrane falls off from the head, and the two ends are sealed by themselves, forming an oval egg cocoon, which quickly oxidizes and hardens in the air, and the color becomes dark brown or reddish brown. The egg cocoon formation process takes 50 seconds to 5 minutes.

Under suitable temperature and humidity conditions, the egg cocoons of the earthworm begin to hatch after about 2 weeks. One egg cocoon can hatch 3-4 small earthworms. The newly hatched small earthworms are milky white, and turn pink after 2-3 days. They can turn red when they grow to about 1 cm.

Additional information:

The life cycle of earthworms: earthworms start from laying egg cocoons to young earthworms, until they grow to maturity, form rings and start laying eggs, completing a life cycle. The life cycle of earthworms varies greatly depending on species, region, food and breeding conditions.

Even for the same species, the life cycle is different under different temperature and humidity conditions. Under artificial breeding conditions, earthworms generally reach sexual maturity after about 42 days. At this time, the body length is 3.0-5.5 cm, the annulus becomes thicker and protrudes from the body surface, and it has a shiny appearance. They mate on the surface of the material under dark conditions. They lay eggs one week after mating. If the breeding conditions are good, mature earthworms lay one egg cocoon every 1.4-5.5 days.

Reference: Earthworm - Baidu Encyclopedia