Abstract
Juveniles of the anecic earthworm species Lumbricus badensis hatch from cocoon chambers, which the adult has excavated at depths between 0.4 and 1.5 m. After hatching the young animals migrate to the soil surface through the burrow of the adult. Juveniles live epigeically in self-constructed horizontal tubes during the first growing season. After hibernating in the soil at depths between 30 and 50 cm, juveniles make U-shaped burrows in the mineral soil. Later a main tube is constructed penetrating into the soil. This tube is split into two branches forming a V near the soil surface, and resembling the burrow of the adult. The burrow of an adult earthworm may reach a depth of 2.5 m and ramifies into 5–7 outlet tubes near the soil surface. The construction of the burrows during an individual's development, together with the transition from the epigeic to the anecic way of life, shows the close relationship of the anecic Lumbricus species to epigeic types. The feeding behaviour of the adult and the construction of the humic wall confirm this close relationship.
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