> Many earthworm and soil experts have settled on a version of this explanation: Moving around the soil is relatively slow and difficult, even for earthworms. They can cover a lot more ground on the surface...when it rains, the surface is moist enough for worms to survive and remain hydrated. For a few species, they can more easily move about and find mates. For other earthworms, it may well just be a way to disperse and move into new territory.
Makes sense to me especially with other notes about the absence of young worms. And it feels like predators might be at least a little less active during the rain.
Anyway as a sucker who always helps a worm on the sidewalk out this article was super helpful :)
fellow sidewalk worm helper here. ever since i was a kid, i could never bear the sight of earthworms on the side walk, getting stepped on or baked dry when the Sun comes out. i had always thought i was alone in this behavior (none of my friends did this), until i read that Albert Schweitzer did this too. he won the nobel peace prize in 1952.
In fact I have a home built aquaponics system and have worms in the grow beds. Because the oxygen content of the water stays pretty high, the earthworms do just fine submerged at all times.
Makes sense to me especially with other notes about the absence of young worms. And it feels like predators might be at least a little less active during the rain.
Anyway as a sucker who always helps a worm on the sidewalk out this article was super helpful :)