Blogs
Victoria Burton discusses the results of the Earthworm Watch citizen science survey: My mum remembers me playing with earthworms as a child and one of my earliest memories is walking on dewy grass watching earthworms stretching out across the ground! However my scientific interest started when I did my MSc in Taxonomy and Biodiversity at the Natural History Museum, London.
Photographing Earthworm Specimens
Earthworm ID can be tricky. Many species show variability when it comes to their ID features, and this can make it difficult for recorders as they struggle to match their specimen with the image presented to them in their ID key. The tubercula pubertatis (TP) of one Lumbricus rubellus may look the same as the other examples of this species from the same site but appear different on specimens of the same species from a different site.
The jaw-dropping tail-dropping earthworms
Last September I attended an earthworm research conference organised by Earthworm Research Groups from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and Universi
Visiting the Earthworm Research Group
The Earthworm Research Group (ERG) are based at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston. A team of Earthworm Society of Britain scientists visited the ERG to discuss the research conducted by the ERG and discuss potential for collaborating on future earthworm research. Keiron Brown tells us about his visit to the ERG...
Earthworm ID course - AIDGAP key launch
I vividly remember as a child picking up earthworms, marveling at woodlice and exploring the dirt! I was always fascinated by the miniscule creatures in my garden. It is therefore no surprise to me as an adult I champion earthworms and other ‘small things that run the world’. I love invertebrates and personally feel humans take the presence of ‘bugs’ or ‘creepy crawlies’ as they burrow, crawl, buzz, fly, raft and swim for granted. Invertebrates make up 97% of all life on Earth and to me insects, crustaceans and other marine creatures are just as beautiful and should command our respect.
AIDGAP Earthworms of the UK and Ireland second edition out in April 2018!

A second edition of the AIDGAP Earthworm identification key has been produced and will be available from April.
Digging into the world of earthworm research
The UK has a strong history of earthworm research, with Charles Darwin leading the charge back in the late nineteenth century. Darwin’s last scientific book was all about earthworms and detailed a lifetime of earthworm research, including playing them piano music! Things have come some way since then, and the humble earthworm is now globally recognised as an “ecosystem engineer”...