![]() ![]() “Though there is a creature called the hammerhead worm, or broadhead planarians, some of which prey on earthworms. That’s why earthworm scientists are kind of sceptical when someone reports an earthworm is longer than about 3 or 4ft.” More lies! There are ‘Cannibal’ WormsĪnd, unlike the sandworms, earthworms aren’t carnivorous. The problem with measuring worms is that when they move, they contract, meaning that there’s a big difference between the resting worm and when they’re moving. “The largest ones are around 4ft,” says Rhonda, “though the Giant Gippsland earthworm, which is native to Australia, can get up to around 12ft. The earthworm gets nowhere near the 400 metres (1,300ft) of the sandworm. In Cleopatras time, killing a worm was punishable by death!” She declared them to be sacred and established laws to protect them, because she knew how they toiled the Nile valley. ![]() She explains how earthworms don’t have lungs but breathe through their skin, meaning that their skin has to be moist, meaning that they couldn’t exist in a pure sand environment, meaning that there are no worms living in sand dunes, meaning that everything Arrakis has ever taught us is a big fat lie. Rhonda explains that there are about one million species of worm in existence today – and around 2,700 types of earthworms. It’s probably not enough for rival civilisations to be fighting over, but given how much it can increase crop yields, it’s worth fighting for…” Can Worms Live in Sand and Grow Big? Whoa mama. “In the US, a cubic yard of regular compost probably sells for $30,” says Rhonda. Out the gates, we’ve already established that whereas the sandworm is responsible for the production of ‘spice’ – the Duneiverse’s most desired substance, offering the ingester a longer lifespan, heightened awareness and, in some cases, the ability to see the future – earthworms create a substance that is valuable too. It has incredible plant growth, it can suppress insects and diseases that attack plants, all sorts of amazing things!” I’m interested in harnessing earthworm poop to do useful things. ![]() For almost 29 years now I’ve been teaching about vermicomposting, which is the process by which earthworms are used to convert wastes into a material called vermicompost. But what’s most amazing about them is their poop. ![]()
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