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Story: Earthworms

Earthworm life cycle

Earthworm life cycle

After earthworms mate, their fertilised eggs are held in a protective cocoon. The baby worms (hatchlings) emerge and burrow into the soil, where they grow into juvenile then mature worms.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Bobbie Kalman, The life cycle of an earthworm. New York: Crabtree, 2004

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How to cite this page

Gregor Yeates, Earthworms – Earthworms in New Zealand, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/diagram/15491/earthworm-life-cycle (accessed 14 June 2026).

Story by Gregor Yeates, published 1 March 2009.

Comments

Jill Nicholls
24 September 2016
I had a 20 litre bucket of clean water in my garage (no lid) and after a few days a long red earthworm appeared on the bottom, swimming around as if looking for a way out. I forgot about it overnight and next day there were three pieces of worm. One about 2/3rd's the length of the original and two pieces each about 1 cm long. Although I didn't see the smaller pieces wiggle they seemed to be able to move about in the water. The large piece was acting like a normal worm although pretty slow. Out of pity, I released them onto the lawn. Did the original worm shed its tail or bite off bits? I would appreciate any clarity on this.