Readers of this book will quickly discover that I am not a scientist, just an ordinary gardener who is curious about earthworms. My inquiry into the habits and lifestyles of worms brought me into contact with dozens of biologists, botanists, and taxonomists, all of whom went to great efforts to explain their complex research. With their help, I struggled through technical papers and biology textbooks that would have otherwise been utterly beyond my grasp. Any errors, omissions, or failures are my fault alone; when I did get it right, the oligochaetologists deserve all the credit.
I use the words “worm” and “earthworm” interchangeably throughout the book; in every case I refer to terrestrial worms, those creatures that belong to the taxonomic class Oligochaeta. Cabbageworms, cutworms, parsley worms, and tomato worms are not worms at all but moth or butterfly caterpillars. Roundworms, tapeworms, flatworms, and ribbon worms are interesting creatures in their own right but are not the subject of this book.