The Earthworm

Earthworms may seem like nothing more than fish food, but they are another amazing example of design!

Evidence for Design: The Earthworm

In the past sixty articles, we have examined some very exotic creations. But design is seen also in the common plants and animals God made. Take, for example, the earthworm.
Earthworms are about as common as an animal can be. On the average piece of land the size of a football field, you could normally find 150,000 earthworms weighing 1,100 pounds. This is the minimum number. You may find as many as two million!
Earthworms reach 7-8 inches long by one year old though some types of worms in Australia are known to reach 10 feet long! They are famous as bate for fishing and if you put one on a hook, don’t worry about drowning it. The worm can stay alive under water for as long as 100 days. But they don’t like it for, as we all know, when it rains, they come out of the earth to a drier environment, like the road.
If you find earthworms in your garden, leave them there! Earthworms are constantly working at enriching the soil. They normally live 5 feet below the surface but some have been found to live as far down as 26 feet. The worm moves through the soil by advancing a segment of its body, then anchoring it with tiny brushes, and then moving the next section forward with remarkable force, eating the soil as it goes. (Some evolutionists explain these brushes as the remnants of fins but instead they are uniquely designed for their purpose.) If the soil is too hard, the worm will actually spit on it to soften it. Three of these movements can be going on at any one time in the worm’s body. The soil coming out the back of the worm is rich humus. Given 2.5 acres of good soil, worms could produce 220 pounds of humus in just one 24 hour period. That would be 40 tons per year. In fact, get this, if you waited 300-400 years, the entire surface of the earth to a depth of 16 inches would have gone through the digestive system of a worm!
Earthworms have the remarkable ability to regenerate parts of their body, even their heads. If you cut an earthworm in half, each part could develop into a separate worm. Moles will catch worms underground, bite off their heads (which keeps them from escaping) and store them for the winter. Even without a head they are not dead so the moles would have a fresh meal when they needed it. Yet it is possible for the earthworm to grow another head and escape!
The earthworm may seem common but our soil would have long ago become infertile were it not for this creation of God. It is impossible to explain how it is perfectly suited for its purpose apart from the creativity and kindness of the Lord.