ELi5: Why do so many worms appear on roads, sidewalks, driveways, etc. after it rains?
In: Earth Science
Recently, there’s been more evidence to suggest that worms don’t come out to prevent drowning. They need moisture to breathe and can survive submerged in water for a couple days.
A couple other theories would be that above ground travel is faster than burrowing through soil, and this is only possible when it rains because they need moisture, cannot travel on dry ground, and do not want to burn from the sun. Another theory is due to the vibrations from rain landing on soil being similar to vibrations caused by predators moving through the soil. They may try to reach the surface to escape the predator.
A couple of links:
https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/nature-curiosity-why-do-worms-come-above-ground
https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/why-do-earthworms-surface-after-rain/amp/
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