This is not possible for earthworms as they lack lungs. Humans drown when their lungs fill with water. As Chris Lowe, a researcher at the University of Central Lancashire, points out in Scientific American, earthworms breathe through their skin and require moisture to do so. Most researchers, though, dispute this explanation.
Most claim that worm trails and air pockets underground become submerged, and the earthworms can’t breathe. This is still taught to schoolkids, and you can find a lot of detailed explanation online. The Truth About Drowning WormsĬonventional wisdom holds that earthworms head to the surface after rain because they can’t breathe. Let’s dig deep, if you’ll pardon the pun, and look at what’s really happening when we see earthworms on a soggy sidewalk. It is probably one of the first “nature lessons” we learned at school: earthworms have to come to the surface after rain because they’re drowning.Īs is the case with so many nature stories, the real reason is likely more complicated than we imagine. Even the most curious urban naturalist probably doesn’t think about it much, because we already assume we know what’s going on.
Many of us have seen so many earthworms emerging after rainstorms that we don’t pay much attention. On the sidewalk, in puddles, on the street. It has rained much of the past 24 hours, and the worms were everywhere. I spent much of my walk across town this morning dodging earthworms.
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