Many reasons have been hypothesized as to why worms leave the ground when it rains. The first hypothesis was that worms would leave their borrows in the ground during rain storms to avoid drowning. This hypothesis, however, was shown to be false, as worms require moisture to breath oxygen, and can live completely submerged in water for a period of days and survive.
A second hypothesis was that worms surfaced due to the vibrations of...
Many reasons have been hypothesized as to why worms leave the ground when it rains. The first hypothesis was that worms would leave their borrows in the ground during rain storms to avoid drowning. This hypothesis, however, was shown to be false, as worms require moisture to breath oxygen, and can live completely submerged in water for a period of days and survive.
A second hypothesis was that worms surfaced due to the vibrations of rain being similar to that of one of its main predators, the mole. Research, however, has shown that while humans and other aboveground predators are able to mimic these vibrations and bring worms to the surface, rain seems to not act in this way.
Two further hypotheses also exist and have yet to be rejected. One hypothesis suggests that the moist surface above ground, during and following a rain storm, allows the worms to migrate more easily and cover a greater distance, while also potentially increasing the worms ability to find other worms and mate. Another hypothesis, which has some evidence supporting it, suggests that a the amount of oxygen consumption by particular species of worms, or in worms whose oxygen consumption varies over the day, peaks when a rain storm is occurring, possibly leading the worm to the surface. Hope this helps!
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