CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Earthworm moisture content (earthworm moisture content determination)

1. Are earthworms better when they are wet or dry?

Earthworms like moisture and are afraid of dryness.

The water content in the earthworm's body is about 80%, and the water content of the bait is required to be 60%-80% (based on the water dripping from the fingers when holding the bait in your hand). Therefore, the moisture content of the breeding bed is required to be above 60%. In this way, you must water it once a day or every 1-2 days. The water should not be too much, but it must be watered thoroughly and connected to the lower layer of material. The watering time is noon in winter, evening in summer, and daytime in spring and autumn.

Like darkness and afraid of light: earthworms hide during the day and come out at night. They can be seen foraging under the moonlight. The breeding bed should be covered with straw to keep it moist and shaded.

2. Why does water flow when you kick an earthworm?

Kicking an earthworm will cause water to flow out because most of the earthworm's body is water, with the water content of the earthworm being 80%.

When earthworms encounter sugar, they turn into water. When they encounter salt, they also turn into water. The main principle is that water will penetrate from a place with low concentration to a place with high concentration. Both sugar and salt are hypertonic substances, and most of the water in the body of earthworms is water. When they encounter these hypertonic substances, the water in the body will basically seep out.

3. How much feces can an earthworm produce in a day?

One earthworm produces 0.1-0.2 grams of feces per day

The water content in the body of earthworms is generally 75%-90%, and the soil moisture is 8%-10%, so they start to move. Individuals prefer different humidity, which is generally controlled at around 20%, but the humidity of feed should reach 60%-70%. (Here, it should be mentioned that the daily rainy season causes serious lack of oxygen in the habitat due to the infusion of rainwater into the soil, and the concentration of carbon dioxide increases, forming carbonic acid. The earthworms cannot stand the acidic stimulation, so they crawl out of the soil.) In the case of breeding, it is impossible to control it, so it can be half dry and half wet, and it is controlled by itself, just like the cold and hot zones of snake breeding.

4. What is the dry-wet ratio of earthworms?

The water content in earthworms is about 80%.

Likes moisture and afraid of dryness: The water content in the body of earthworms is about 80%, and the water content of bait is required to be 60%-80% (based on the water dripping from the fingers when holding the bait in the hand). Therefore, the moisture content of the breeding bed is required to be above 60%. In this way, water must be poured once a day or every 1-2 days. The water should not be too much, but it must be poured thoroughly and connected to the lower layer of material. The watering time is noon in winter, evening in summer, and daytime in spring and autumn.

Like darkness and afraid of light: earthworms hide during the day and come out at night. They can be seen foraging under the moonlight. The breeding bed should be covered with straw to keep it moist and shaded.

5. What is the suitable water content for earthworm growth?

1. Humidity The water content of earthworms is 70% to 80%. They usually maintain their balance by secreting body fluids. Therefore, they must live in a humid environment. The humidity adaptation range is 30% to 80%. For example, the suitable humidity for Pheretima Williamii (green earthworm) is 30% to 45%, while the suitable humidity for Eisenia fetida (red earthworm) is 50% to 80%. This habit of earthworms makes them live in burrows and nests. High or low humidity environments are not conducive to their normal survival. If the humidity is lower than the limit, the earthworms will be dehydrated and extremely atrophied, semi-dormant or die. On the contrary, they will die as the temperature rises.

2. Temperature Earthworms are cold-blooded animals and are very sensitive to changes in temperature. When the temperature drops to 10°C, earthworms stop eating; when it drops to 4°C, they enter a hibernation state; below 0°C, they will freeze or die. Generally, large and medium-sized earthworms hibernate deep underground; while small earthworms mostly gather in groups and form balls in warm soil to hibernate. When the temperature rises to 8-10°C the following year, they crawl to the surface to move around. Weak and shrunken earthworms have a very low survival rate and it is difficult for them to survive the spring. When the temperature exceeds 30°C, their growth is also inhibited, they quickly shrink, their body color becomes darker, and they burrow into the deep soil and do not move. When the temperature is above 35°C, they completely stop eating and enter a dormant state, their bodies completely shrink, and they feel extremely dull. Once the temperature drops, they can return to their original state. The best temperature is 20-25°C.

3. Diet Earthworms are omnivorous animals that can eat both meat and vegetables. The plant feed sources for earthworms are extremely rich. In artificial breeding, waste is almost always used to feed them in rural areas. The feed sources for earthworms include a variety of livestock and poultry manure, manure, grass, water plants, straw, etc., as well as leaves, waste vegetable leaves, rotten claw fruit, dregs, biogas residues, waste paper pulp, etc. There are also animal feeds, which have a more significant effect on the weight gain and reproduction of earthworms. For example, the leftovers and sewage after slaughter, the leftovers of meat and vegetables from canteens and restaurants are the feed sources that earthworms like.

4. Illuminance Earthworms are photophobic animals that hide during the day and move at night. They like to live in dark and humid soil environments. They are extremely afraid of direct ultraviolet rays, so they don't show up easily in sunlight or strong electric lights. They will only leave their nests and expose themselves when they encounter enemies, pesticide damage, flooding, high temperature, dryness, hypoxia, etc. But earthworms are not afraid of red light. The role of earthworms in nature: They can loosen the soil, increase soil organic matter and improve the structure. They can also promote acidic or alkaline soil to become neutral soil, increase fast-acting components such as phosphorus, and make the soil suitable for the growth of crops. Because earthworms are rich in protein, they can be used as feed for livestock, poultry and aquaculture to increase production. Earthworms also occupy a certain position in pharmacology. They are common Chinese medicinal materials with antipyretic, antispasmodic, activating, antiasthmatic, antihypertensive and diuretic effects. Earthworms can secrete a special enzyme that can decompose protein, fat and wood fiber. Therefore, leaves, straw, livestock and poultry feces, domestic garbage, activated sludge and waste from papermaking and food industries can all be its food. Earthworms can eliminate environmental pollution to a certain extent. Therefore, in recent years, many countries have established earthworm breeding factories and called earthworm breeding factories "environmental purification devices." Because earthworms can absorb trace metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium in the soil, the amount of these metal elements accumulated in the earthworms is 10 times the amount outside. Therefore, some scientists believe that earthworms can be used as monitoring animals for heavy metal pollution in the soil.

6. Why do earthworms die when they dry out?

The water content of earthworms is about 80%. If earthworms cannot get enough water in the soil, they will stop moving when they leave the water. If the soil is too dry, earthworms will die.

Water earthworms are mostly caught in shallow waters of river branches and silt ponds. Use a fine-mesh scoop net to scoop from the surface of the riverbed silt and two centimeters below the mud. There are a lot of water earthworms in the residue obtained after rinsing in water. Collect enough mud and earthworm mixture and place it in a large basin, fill it with water, cover it with a lid and shade it. When the water earthworms are enriched on the water surface, scoop them out by hand. When the earthworms are gone, only water and mud will be left.