Earthworms and Their AlliesBeddard, Frank E. (Frank Evers)
Science
Earthworms and Their Allies
Beddard, Frank E. (Frank Evers)
Earthworms
Not only is this the case, but the same observer proved that
earthworms can distinguish between degrees of intensity of light.
This obviously indicates a more complete 'visual' sense. He
illuminated the light-box of the former experiment with light
admitted through a ground glass screen, thus diminishing its
intensity. The other chamber was left as before but the screen was
removed, thus admitting full daylight. In this experiment the number
of worms in each compartment proved to be different. The results were
not so striking as before, since only rather more than one-half were
found in the more dimly illuminated chamber. It is a well-known fact
that if earthworms are abroad at all from their burrows, it is during
the night that this movement takes place, the numbers decreasing
towards morning though worms are often seen crawling about well after
sunrise. Some experiments have been made in attempt of explanation of
this apparent anomaly. It would appear from these experiments that
while worms are negatively phototropic to strong and moderate light
as has already been pointed out, they are positively phototropic to
very dim light; hence the advent of evening calls them forth from
their burrows. It will be noted that this perception is of very great
advantage to the worm since its more active enemies above ground are
diurnal. It was held originally that the head end of the worm only
was thus sensitive to light; but more recent experiments have shown
that this is not the case, and that all of the body is sensitive.
This disposes of course of the existence of special light-receiving
organs in the anterior part of the worm's body. Not only this, but an
interesting extension of the view has been promulgated. It has been
shown by Prof. G. Parker and a colleague that in the common Brandling
worm, _Allolobophora foetida_, the response to light stimuli was
related to the amount of the body exposed to its influence. This
is very important as showing that the light perception in these
creatures is probably not due to special organs having a limited
position on the body, but is due to collective sense impressions of
many cells scattered over the whole body, the impression being the
greater when the whole body is exposed and less when only parts of
it are exposed. Furthermore, and this has quite another importance,
these observers noted that the reaction effects differed when only a
part of the body was exposed; that they were greater in the front of
the body, less in the middle, and less still at the tail end. Indeed
they found that the reactions in the case of the front end of the
body alone being exposed were rather more than one-third as compared
with those which were shown when the whole body was subjected to the
light stimulus. The fact that the least sensitive region of the body
is the posterior end has, it is true, only been definitely proved in
the case of the worm whose specific name has been mentioned. But
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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