Worm Anatomy 101: The Reproductive System

DID YOU KNOW THAT . . .?

• All worms have both male parts and female parts. This means that they are hermaphrodites.
• The female parts of a worm include the egg sacs and ovaries.
• The male organs are two pairs of testes, three pairs of seminal vesicles and sperm funnels.
• Despite the fact that worms have both male and female organs; it must mate with another worm in order to reproduce its own kind.
• Worms will never reproduce beyond the carrying capacity of their habitat. This means that worms living in vermicomposting bins won't over crowd the bin. So you never have to worry about having a surplus of worms to deal with.
• After fertilization, the clitellum secrets a kind of tube that forms the cocoon in which several eggs will be fertilized, and eventually turn into live baby worms.
• Each cocoon can have 2-15 babies.
• One worm can make up to 3 cocoons in a week.
• The cocoons will hatch in 4-6 weeks.
• A worm is sexually mature in 6-8 weeks.

Note: This page is provided for those who have a general interest in worm anatomy, and should not be considered scientific. There are thousands of websites on worms. Use Google or another good search engine to help you find some of them. If you find any good ones (scientific or otherwise ), e-mail the webmaster and he'll add them to our links page .

Back to Composting

Nervous System