They can’t see or hear. They hide from daylight. They have no eyes, no ears, no arms, and no legs. Yet they work the soil as hard as any farmer. What are they? Earthworms.
WHAT ARE WORMS?
Worms are animals with soft bodies. They have no bones. They are usually long and skinny.
There are many types of worms. Tapeworms live inside the bodies of other animals. Some worms live only in the sea. But the worms we are most familiar with are called earthworms. They crawl in the ground. This article is about earthworms.
Earthworms can be anywhere from 1 inch (3 centimeters) to more than 10 feet (3 meters) long. That’s as tall as a basketball hoop! Most are colored dull pink or brown.
EARTHWORM BODIES
The bodies of earthworms are divided into segments. The rings that circle their bodies are actually bands of muscle.
Earthworms can move surprisingly fast for creatures with no legs. Tiny bristles called setae cover their bodies and help them move around. The setae dig into the soil around the worm and give them traction, kind of like the tread on a pair of sneakers.
Earthworms breathe the air they find in between little bits of dirt. They breathe through their skin. When it rains, water fills these gaps in the dirt. This forces the worms to go to the surface to breathe. That’s why you see earthworms on the sidewalk on a rainy day.
WHAT DO EARTHWORMS DO?
Earthworms spend almost all of their time underground. They live in soil, which contains a lot of living and dead things. Earthworms usually live near the surface of the ground. When the weather gets very hot or very cold, worms dig deeper. This keeps them from getting too dry or too cold.
Earthworms stay away from daylight. They come to the surface at night to feed and get rid of waste they may be carrying. They only come up during the day if their burrows are flooded.
As an earthworm digs, it swallows chunks of soil. Often, this soil contains a lot of dead plant matter. The earthworm can eat this plant matter. What the earthworm leaves behind is often very good soil for growing plants.
WHAT GOOD ARE EARTHWORMS?
We usually don’t notice earthworms, but they are very important for our soil. They help mix air into soil as they squirm around underground. This air makes it easier for plants to grow. Earthworms also help break down plants and rotting matter in the soil. And they provide food for many animals. If you've ever been fishing, you've probably seen a fish go after a worm. Or perhaps you’ve seen a robin pulling a worm out of the ground.
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