How do earthworms breed?

Answer:

Earthworms are hermaphrodites, which means they have both male and female reproductive organs. This brings us to one of the oldest myths about worms: that earthworms can fertilise themselves. Though some earthworms can fertilise themselves (parthenogenesis), this is not the norm. Most earthworms require a mate of the same species to reproduce. You can tell when an earthworm is ready to mate because its’ clitellum will change colour from pinkish to red-orange. The two earthworms line up in a head to tail fashion and exchange spermatozoa (sperm). The sperm is stored in the spermathecae. Both worms do this at the same time. A slime tube then forms around the clitellum, which dries and fills with a fluid called albumin. The earthworm then wiggles out of the tube head first. While the tube passes from the clitellum to the prostomium, it passes over the female pore which deposits ovum (eggs) into the capsule, followed by the spermatheca pore (male pore) which releases the stored spermatozoa. Some earthworms mate on the soil surface and some earthworms mate in the soil. Given the dark soil environment, we think that earthworms produce a pheromone (chemical) that signals other earthworms in the area that it is ready to reproduce. is that enough info for you?

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