Worms! Can you bait a hook?

The end with the little light colored ring is the head.

You cannot always accept what you were told. I was told that the early bird catches the worm. What about the rights of the early worm?

The half of a worm in an apple seems to live. I have never checked on the other half.

Hey!!! Now there will be non of that! You planted a tree today didn't you?

The early worm gets eaten.

Urban myth alert. If you cut a worm in half, it dies.

Alert...

A botanist is one who studies PLANTS. If you have been led to believe something that is not true, you have been DUPED, not DOOPED.

Please use spell check.

Y? The way I see it spelling is a self justification of precieved or wanton intelect! As far as Botany goes, were we not all the same once? What came first the plant that grew so the worm could feed and produce waste that a plant could grow, or did they all evolve at the same time? Ta Da.

"precieved or wanton intelect"

Umm... What?

Even spelled correctly, "perceived or wanton intellect" makes no sense.

What did you intend to say?

what kind of drugs are you taking, anyway? "WHAT"???????????????

If you don't know the answer to the posted question, then read another book. If you want to know the answer read this one! I don't think drugs has anything to do with it; maybe the person is just put here for ones entertainment. Science is rarely funny, it is nice to see something a tad avant-garde.

What is worse than finding a worm in your apple?

...Finding half a worm........!

Finding an apple in your worm???... but that is a different subject... and not for here.

Am I being really stupid here but I have another question about worms. How do they reproduce? Is there such a thing as a worm egg or do they have sex? Or do they just split in half.

I have a feeling I'm going to feel like a complete moron when someone tells me the answer but hey, I studied physics not biology.

Um, what is worse then finding a worm in your apple? I would say being invited to Michael Barrymores place for a swim.

hermaphrodite; to any Texans, that's morphadite

A hermaphrodite is something born with both sets of sex organs. I didn't even know worms had sex organs. Please clarify, are they not asexual?

Worms ARE hermaphrodites.

The saying that if you cut a worm in half both halves live is WRONG!!

If you cut a worm in half (or any fraction) the tail end wriggles vigorously to attract the attention of the predator away from the head end which can then wriggle off to survive by growing its tail back. The tail end dies after distracting the predator.

John.

Of course they have sex, and really are the only living creature that is BORN bi-sexual, and is capable of both giving sperm,(or whatever worm jizz is called) and receiving sperm and reproducing young.

As a young child, I used the pick thousands of western Michigan Night Crawlers and sell them for 1/2 cent each to the bait shops.. It didn't take too much money to keep me in candy.. hahaha

I loved it when they were mating because they were MUCH easier to snag, and I got two for the effort of one..

If anyone is interested I can tell you how to pick night crawlers.... maybe that's why my knees hurt me today.... :o)

Earthworms aren't alone - there are other hermaphroditic animals. There was a fascinating article in "Science News" last year - maybe I can still find it...

Annelida (segmented worms) have both male and female sex organs. The ultimate performance is that you can impregnate me and I will impregnate thee. Of course if you are an antisocial SOB... a worm, I will impregnate myself. Now gestationally it is quite possible. The worm will wrap itself around itself for it's male and female parts to work.

But that is another story

...so some worms, may have invented cloning!!! ....and we humans think that we are clever.....!

Worms are hermaphrodites. However, you still need 2 worms to mate as they are incapable of fertilizing themselves. The end where the smooth ring (known as the saddle) is closer to is the head end. The saddle is where the reproductive organs are located. It is the organ that produces the egg case for the mating worms. When you cut a worm in two, the head end will survive. This also depends upon the species of worm. Some aquatic worms can actually reproduce by chain budding or binary fission. Finally, a word of correction here. Worms are not the only hermaphroditic creatures on Earth.

I stand corrected, however according to Wikapedia, SOME hermaphrodites are capable of fertilizing theirselves..

You are right there. Some hermaphrodites can fertilize themselves. Unfortunately though, worms aren't among them.

Wow folks; I think after reading all of the answers we can be certain of one thing....Obviously the worms figured out how to reproduce long before we figured out how they did it. Thanks to all for your input. Two other related questions though...1. Does a worm only ever go forward and if so, how can you tell? and 2. Do worms eat other worms? Which end do they start at?( Oh, (and you must add some type of humor), if they are themselves worm eaters and they start at the tail, would they know if they may have doubled back on themselves?) You are on your own now folks, thanks again.

If you really wanted to get an education on worms, wait until a two-three day rainy season, when it's warm outside, and go to your nearest park or ball field.

(it works best when no one has been stomping the ground for a day or so.

If you go about 2-3 hours after dark, you will see the night crawlers slowly creeping out of their holes, and looking for bi-sexual partners, because they cannot reproduce by theirself, (as I was correctly informed earlier). To answer your first question, Does a worm always go forward, you will quickly see the answer to that, if you shine a Flashlight on them, or try to actually catch one... Your best chance is to find them mating, and with good luck, and the flashlight in your mouth, you possibly can capture two worms at once, as long as they have ventured far enough out of the hole.. I have actually found them totally out of the hole while mating and they are VERY easy to pick up..

Second question, Earth worms DO NOT eat other worms, at least while they are alive, they aren't like maggots..

Thats as far as my worm knowledge goes....

What I do know is that if you use one of those huge michigan or canadian Night Crawlers with a three hook crawler harness, with silver spinners, and red beads, you will catch Walleyed Pike, absoulutely the best tasting fish in the world..

Well thanks Guest! Although I am not sure I want to be going out 2-3 hours after dark with a flash light looking for a Bi-sexual anything. I would be too afraid I may just find one. However if that is what it takes to find the answer, well, I don't care THAT much!!! I kinda' wanted to close the thread but your reply was just too funny to ignor. Ashman

But we still don't have the answer to the child's original question:

"When I walk to school after it rains, why are only grown-up worms out on the side walk?"

I believe that the general consensus is that the reason you see only "grown-up" worms out on the sidewalk is that they are primarily there to MATE.

(Those nocturnal, hermaphroditic, sperm swapping, slime secreting Annelids... )

With respect to cutting a worm in half, and having two worms...

This does not work with earthworms (phylum Annelida), only in "flatworms" (aka Planaria, phylum Platyhelminthes).

As we have just had 4 days non stop rain, I have been able to do some research! I have noticed a marked variation in size for the worms observed, and decided that I don't know what a grown up worm looks like in comparison to a 'baby' worm. Or are the smaller worms a different species?

There are many different species of earthworms... where I live we have grey, ones, brown ones, little ones, big ones, and obviously they were ALL small when they are younger..

I know this, the other reason why worms come out of the ground, (Besides mating), is to keep above the water level..

Also, upon checking wikapedia, it seems that at least two of us were WRONG when we said that the earthworm cannot regenerate lost body parts You can read the following if interested, copied right from wikapedia:

Earthworms have the facility to replace or replicate lost segments, but this ability varies between species and depends on the extent of the damage. Stephenson (1930) devoted a chapter of his great monograph to this topic, while G.E. Gates spent 10 years studying regeneration in a variety of species, but "because little interest was shown", Gates (1972) only published a few of his findings that, nevertheless, show it is theoretically possible to grow two whole worms from a bisected specimen in certain species. Gates's reports included:

• Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826) with head regeneration, in an anterior direction, possible at each intersegmental level back to and including 23/24, while tails were regenerated at any levels behind 20/21.
• Lumbricus terrestris (Linneus, 1758) replacing anterior segments from as far back as 13/14 and 16/17 but tail regeneration was never found.
• Perionyx excavatus (Perrier, 1872) readily regenerated lost parts of the body, in an anterior direction from as far back as 17/18, and in a posterior direction as far forward as 20/21.
• Lampito mauritii (Kinberg, 1867) with regeneration in anterior direction at all levels back to 25/26 and tail regeneration from 30/31; head regeneration was sometimes believed to be caused by internal amputation resulting from Sarcophaga sp. larval infestation.

An unidentified Tasmanian earthworm shown growing a second head is reported here: [1].