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this is amazing-Every worm can be both a mom and a dad - but not with itself. Each individual is a “hermaphrodite”, an animal with both male and female sex organs. Each produces both sperm and eggs, but each worm’s eggs must be fertilized by the sperm of another individual - they cannot fertilize themselves. So earthworms must still find sexual partners, but both will receive sperm from the other. And in one final twist, earthworm mating is separate from reproduction! After mating, each worm will crawl away carrying the sperm of its partner, but not until later will it actually use those sperm to fertilize its eggs.