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Worm stone used to measure movement of soil by earthworms

Earthworm stone used by Darwin to measure how much soil earthworms move. This stone was reconstructed by his son's company Cambridge Instrument Company, photographed in 1932.

Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org licence CC BY 4.0

18 Oct

Darwin's Worms

VJBurton General 0 Comment(s)

Charles Darwin is best known for his contribution to the theory of evolution and his book On the Origin of Species but he was also fascinated by earthworms whose behaviour he observed and experimented on in his garden at Down House, Downe, Kent. Darwin’s book The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits is the result of his 40 year study on earthworms, including a 29 year experiment measuring the rate that a stone is buried by the burrowing activities of earthworms. ‘Worms’ as it is affectionately known was very popular, initially outselling On the Origin of Species with 6,000 copies in the first year, and was to be Darwin’s last scientific book, published in October 1881 just six months before he died.

How many earthworms and data sets have we recorded so far?

11 Oct

Moving Mountains: a summary of the season

aroach_517 0 Comment(s)

The humble earthworm is often out of sight and out of mind, with many only surfacing under the cover of darkness to feed and mate. Despite our chance encounters with elusive earthworms, these salt of the earth creatures are busy continually ploughing the soil under our feet. This tireless burrowing has earned them the nickname of ecosystem engineers, as their burrows structure the earth, creating pores that stop the soil becoming waterlogged, by increasing water infiltration rates of up to 10 fold.

Deep living earthworm Lumbricus terrestris on autumn leaves

Deep living earthworm Lumbricus terrestris on autumn leaves

20 Sep

Making sense of earthworm senses

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By taking part in Earthworm Watch in your garden, allotment or other green space near you, the team hope you’ve had the opportunity to record your observations of surface, soil and deep-living earthworms. You can find out more about these earthworm eco-types (which refers to their feeding habits and where they live within the soil) by visiting the science section of our website.

The Bobbit(t) worm Eunice aphroditois mentioned by Emma Sherlock in her weird wormy wonders talk at the ESB AGM © Jenny Huang CC BY 2.0

The Bobbit(t) worm Eunice aphroditois mentioned by Emma Sherlock in her weird wormy wonders talk at the ESB AGM

© Jenny Huang CC BY 2.0

06 Sep

Weird wormy wonders at the Earthworm Society of Britain AGM

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There has been a society devoted to bird conservation in Britain since 1889 - The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland was established even earlier, in 1836 for wild plants. Yet both birds and plants in part rely on earthworms to flourish, both as a food source and through their actions in the soil.

Vicki Shennan taking part in Earthworm Watch in The Natural History Museum's Wildlife Garden

Vicki Shennan taking part in Earthworm Watch in The Natural History Museum's Wildlife Garden

23 Aug

Meet the Earthworm Watch team – Vicki Shennan, Citizen Science Co-ordinator

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Thanks to all of you who have signed up and submitted data for Earthworm Watch which has seen a surge over the summer period with an increase in the spread of data points. We will be sending out a summary of the Spring/Summer season soon.