Earthworms feed on decaying organic matter in the soil. They excrete digested material as worm casts and these can be seen as squiggly clumps of mud at the surface of the soil. These castings are very rich in nutrients because they contain minerals and nutrients that have been brought closer to the surface by the worms.

Common Earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris)

Earthworms feed on decaying organic matter in the soil. They excrete digested material as worm casts and these can be seen as squiggly clumps of mud at the surface of the soil. These castings are very rich in nutrients because they contain minerals and nutrients that have been brought closer to the surface by the worms.

Annelida Oligochaeta

Author(s)Adrian Jones
Author CompanyIntegration and Application Network
Date Created2006-08-08
AlbumFauna > Worms
TypePhoto
Dimensions3072 x 2048
Filesize7.9 MB
Number of Downloads303
Filetype(s) JPG
LicenseAttribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Required AttributionAdrian Jones, Integration and Application Network (ian.umces.edu/media-library)