The evening of March 5, 2007, brought about conditions apparently ideal for earthworm mating. Our dog noticed first, when walking her in the yard she seemed overly interested in something in the grass. A little later I noticed that there seemed to be worms out on the yard all over. Closer inspection near a light uncovered a common theme outside — worm reproduction. Yes, night of the worms.
The Night of the Worms gallery shares a few of the images captured. I’m no worm expert but know a little about them from studying and practicing worm composting, but I had no idea about seasonal or mass simultaneous worm reproduction. Perhaps tied to moon phase, it was full on March 3 and on this night I believe was a waning gibbous moon. Of course it could be simply based on current weather, first warm days after a stretch of rain. A single night does not make science so be cautious with anything stated here. If this peaks your interest in earthworms, go learn more about these garden masters and their reproduction.
“The early bird gets the worm,” but on this evening the late bird would have feasted.
Update: Apparently the March full moon is also sometimes called the Worm Moon. This signifies the thaw of the ground and the reappearance of worm castings which means worms are active again. I didn’t see anything noting reproduction associated with this moon.
