The Nikon MicroscopyU confocal microscopy image gallery was created with a PCM-2000 confocal scanning system interfaced to a Nikon Eclipse E600 upright microscope. Images were recorded in successive z-axis serial sections with C-Imaging Systems software with excitation illumination provided by an argon-ion and/or a helium-neon laser.

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View a second confocal sequence of lumbricus.

The lumbricus terrestris is more commonly known as nightcrawler, earthworm, or dew worm. These soil-borne animals generally prefer moist and humid habitats and can be found in orchards, pastures, forests, and grasslands as well as crawling along sidewalks on cloudy days just after a rain. Believed to have been brought to North America by European settlers, earthworms have thrived and as many as one million worms can be found in a single square acre where conditions permit. Several varieties of earthworms can burrow downwards to about six feet in depth and eat any type of organic matter including rags, dead leaves, and decaying animals. They also consume large amounts of soil, sand, and tiny pebbles. Their tunneling activities contribute to the richness of the terrain by mixing organic matter with soil.

Earthworms remain underground during hot daylight hours and surface at night to find food that they can store in their burrows. Most of the organs including the brain and ten heart-like structures are clustered at the head-like end of the tubular body. Earthworms do not have lungs and all oxygen is received though the moist permeable skin. Although these creatures do not have eyes and cannot see, specialized organs that are sensitive to different intensities of light help them to navigate.