The secret world of earthworms: meet the tiger worm and the nightcrawler

By Kevin Richard Butt, Reader in Ecology, University of Central Lancashire

Most people are aware of earthworms, but probably give them little thought. Some have a notion they are “good for the soil”. Others regard them with distaste and think of slimy animals associated with decay. But these alien-looking animals are remarkable and control the foundations of life from their subterranean world.

Earthworms engineer the soil that grows the food we eat and the flowers we love to look at. Indeed, they are the…

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