Garden Mystery: A Worm In A Knot

Gardening includes a fair amount of digging around in the dirt. It’s my happy place. Along with that joy, though, come various encounters with garden inhabitants.

Sometimes, I come home with a spider in my hair– it’s happened so often that I’ve become quite blasé about it.

Once, while trying to remove an unusually deep-rooted rhododendron, I disturbed a bumblebee. I hadn’t realized they nested underground.
Since then, I’ve found others in the dry duff beneath evergreen trees. Now, knowing it’s someone’s home, I try to be careful around that area.

Finding worms is remarkably common. Usually, I’m just glad to see them because their presence tells me they’re busy improving & aerating the soil. Whenever I find one, I carefully shift him to the nearest shady space so he can continue his good works.

Recently, I uncovered a worm tied in a knot.
Strange, eh?
I’ve NEVER seen this before. Have you?

How does one travel through the soil while one is tied in a knot? Wouldn’t squeezing through that tunnel make the knot tighter??
What’s this guy up to?
So, naturally, I had to Google it.

There are a few photos of a worm tied in a knot online.
There is chatter.
And lots of questions…

Some speculate that it might have something to do with drought conditions (although the soil was evenly moist where this worm lives).

Others figure it must have something to do with mating…
Can a single worm mate with itself?
Nope! (I googled again.)
Some worms have the superpower to gender shift, but every worm needs a friend to reproduce.

It’s a garden mystery to me.
If you can bring some light to the subject, that would be super cool. 🙂

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One thought on “Garden Mystery: A Worm In A Knot”

Hey SV. I read your mystery and posed the question to Chat GPT and this is the response: Finding an earthworm “tied in a knot” can definitely seem odd, but there are a few natural explanations for this behavior or appearance:
1.Mucus and Movement – Earthworms secrete mucus to move and breathe. When disturbed or exposed to dry conditions, they may thrash and twist their bodies erratically to try to escape or conserve moisture. In doing so, they can end up in a tangled or knotted shape — especially if the soil is sticky or their mucus is drying up.
2.Defensive Behavior – Some earthworm species curl up or twist their bodies when threatened or handled. This can make them harder for predators (like birds or insects) to grasp. In some cases, this defense mechanism can result in a knotted appearance.
3.Parasitic Infection or Illness – nternal parasites or diseases can affect the earthworm’s nervous system and motor control, causing it to move in unusual ways or twist its body involuntarily. Though rarer, this can cause knotting or strange postures.
4.Injury or Physical Obstruction – If the worm has been partially crushed, caught on something in the soil, or otherwise injured, it might twist around itself in response to pain or disorientation.

SVSeekins

Kim Larratt says:

06/01/2025 at 2:33 pm

Hey SV. I read your mystery and posed the question to Chat GPT and this is the response: Finding an earthworm “tied in a knot” can definitely seem odd, but there are a few natural explanations for this behavior or appearance:
1.Mucus and Movement – Earthworms secrete mucus to move and breathe. When disturbed or exposed to dry conditions, they may thrash and twist their bodies erratically to try to escape or conserve moisture. In doing so, they can end up in a tangled or knotted shape — especially if the soil is sticky or their mucus is drying up.
2.Defensive Behavior – Some earthworm species curl up or twist their bodies when threatened or handled. This can make them harder for predators (like birds or insects) to grasp. In some cases, this defense mechanism can result in a knotted appearance.
3.Parasitic Infection or Illness – nternal parasites or diseases can affect the earthworm’s nervous system and motor control, causing it to move in unusual ways or twist its body involuntarily. Though rarer, this can cause knotting or strange postures.
4.Injury or Physical Obstruction – If the worm has been partially crushed, caught on something in the soil, or otherwise injured, it might twist around itself in response to pain or disorientation.