Down to Earth

Where do earthworms go when soil dries to powder? I thought they just died but I found I was wrong because today when I dug into dry soil so recently wet, there were earthworms – lively large long earthworms. With my first deep shovel thrust I made one worm into two. That also is mysterious. A compost man loved to tell school kids that there were no boy or girl earthworms. Each is both. Is that erotic or what?
These segmented worms are interesting animals. They belong to the Class Oligochaet, which means “few bristles” and refers to the few setae on each body segment – four to each segment. Research shows these can be detected as a roughness if the animal is stroked from tail to head. That is contrary to proper stroking of furry mammals, mind you, your cat prefers strokes from head to tail. People probably aren't that fussy, but then they aren't all that furry either.
Earthworm bristles aren't like those on my hair brush but I will “stroke” one more closely the next time we meet, if I can detect the head from the tail. They don't have lungs, but instead breathe through the skin. The outermost layers of an earthworm are thin and they excrete mucous onto the skin to keep it moist. It is also wet by body fluid which is excreted through dorsal pores located along the back mid-line in the grooves between the segments. Now isn't that precious?
So I know they need moisture and are restricted to burrowing in damp soil. They retreat deep underground during hot, dry weather. So with some clever googling I found out where on earth my earthworms went when they were gone. Someday I'll tell you about their gross digestion process while they blissfully burrow in my damp soil.
Naomi Sherer