Are earthworms insects?

Earthworms are common terrestrial annelids that live in the soil, go out day and night, feed on livestock and poultry feces and organic waste, swallow them together with the soil, and also eat fragments such as stems and leaves of plants. It can loosen the soil, improve the soil, improve soil fertility, and promote agricultural production. Let's take a look at whether earthworms are insects.

Are earthworms insects?

Earthworms are not insects. Earthworm is a general term for annelid oligochaeta. In scientific classification, earthworm belongs to annelid, Oligochaeta, Oligochaeta, and unidirectional invertebrate. At present, there are more than 2500 species of earthworms, which are called the most valuable animals on earth by biologist Darwin in 1837. They are found in almost all soils with suitable humidity and sufficient organic matter in the world.

The culture value of earthworms

1. Chinese herbal medicine: earthworms, commonly known as earthworms, are cold and salty, with the effects of clearing heat, calming the liver, relieving asthma, dredging collaterals, and treating high fever, mania, convulsions, wind-heat headache, red eyes, hemiplegia and so on. The extract has a good effect of relieving cough and asthma, and its ash mixed with rose oil can treat baldness.

2. Biological fertilizer: earthworm manure is a good biological fertilizer, which is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, humus, organic matter and trace elements needed by crops such as magnesium, boron, nickel and manganese. It is a cheap and efficient fertilizer for fruits, flowers, vegetables and nurseries.

3. Aquatic bait: earthworms are rich in protein, fat and carbohydrates. The content of crude protein is as high as 72%. It also contains amino acids, vitamins and trace elements needed by the human body. It can not only be used as animal feed and produce drugs and cosmetics, but also can be used for human consumption.

The living habits of earthworms

1. Nocturnal animals: earthworms are nocturnal animals that live in soil caves during the day and go out at night. They usually go out from 8 p.m. in summer and autumn to 4 a.m. the next day. They feed and mate in dark conditions. I like the quiet surroundings. Most of the earthworms around the living industry and mine do not grow well or escape. Although earthworms are distributed all over the world, they prefer higher temperatures. When the temperature is below 8 ℃, they stop growing and the optimum temperature for reproduction is 22-26 ℃.

2. Omnivores: earthworms are omnivores. Except for glass, plastic and rubber, earthworms are eaten, such as humus, animal feces, soil bacteria, fungi and the decomposition products of these substances. Sensitive taste, sweet and sour taste, bitter taste, like hot and soft feed, especially gluttonous for animal food, the monthly food intake is equal to their own weight, and about half of the food is excreted as feces through the digestive tract. It has the habit that mother and son are unwilling to live together, especially in the case of high density, when the small ones reproduce and the old ones will run away and move.

3. Negative phototaxis: earthworms have negative phototaxis, especially to escape from strong sunlight, blue light and ultraviolet rays, but they are not afraid of red light and tend to weak light, such as earthworms coming out of their burrows in the wet morning. The toxic effect of sunlight on earthworms is mainly due to the presence of ultraviolet rays in sunlight. Earthworms like quiet environment not only requires low noise, but also can not shake, near bridges, highways, airports is not suitable to build earthworm farms.

4. variable temperature animals: earthworms are variable temperature animals, and their body temperature changes with the change of external environment temperature. Therefore, the dependence of earthworms on the environment is generally more significant than that of constant temperature animals. environmental temperature affects not only the body temperature and activity of earthworms, but also the metabolism, growth, development and reproduction of earthworms. and temperature also has a greater impact on other living conditions, thus indirectly affecting earthworms. Therefore, temperature is one of the most important living conditions for earthworms.