Follow Marley down underground,
to meet the worms that burrow around.
Where do they live? What do they do?
Do you dare touch one?
And what’s in their poo?
Meet the wonderful worms
Earthworms, like us, like to live in the…. earth!
Some people find us a little bit scary, but lots of people love us, especially gardeners, because we are truly amazing!
Follow Marley to find out how we live and how we are a vital part of the web of life.
Worm bodies!
Let's take a look at a worm's body from head to tail and find out how it is perfectly formed to live in the soil.
Head - My pointy head often leads the way and helps me tunnel through the leaves and soil. I have no eyes but can sense light through my skin so I know when to go back into the cool wet soil.
Mouth - I have a tiny-u-shaped mouth on the lower side of my head. I don't have any teeth so I suck the food in. Close to my mouth I have a muscular stomach (gizzard) where grains of sand and soil grind the food into tiny pieces. Bacteria help to digest food in my intestine and it is absorbed into my blood to make me healthy and slimy.
Body - I move in a shape like a wave. I can make my body long and thin then short and fat and pull myself along by squeezing my muscles. I am an invertebrate which means I don't have a backbone. This makes me very flexible.
Saddle - You can tell I am an adult worm if I have a saddle. This is closer to my head than my tail.It means I am ready to have babies. I make a special cocoon here to protect my eggs in the soil.
Skin - I am covered in slippery stuff (mucus) which helps me move through the soil easily. If my skin dries out I will not be able to absorb oxygen, so I usually emerge from the soil at night or when it rains. I also use my skin to sense light and dark (I don't have eyes) and to feel vibrations (I don't have ears).
Segments - My body is made up of lots of segments. Under a magnifier you can see I have tiny bristles at the sides of each segment. These help me move and I use them like a brake so I don't slide down the tunnels that I dig.
Tail - When I do a poo it goes into the soil and plant roots absorb the rich nutrients. Gardeners and farmers love worm poo. You might see tiny piles of soil on the ground which are called worm casts. My burrow, where I live, is beneath.
Kinds of worms - earthworm buddies
There are at least 27 different earthworm species in the UK. They have all found their special place to live in different levels of the soil which splits them into 3 main groups of 'buddies' who hang out together.
So if you are digging you will find different kinds of worms depending on how deep you go. Just be careful with your spade!
3 groups of worms:
1. Compost heap, leaf pile and soil surface worm, eg a tiger worm (Eisenia fetida).
2. Topsoil worms (from soil surface to 50cm underground), eg a green worm (Allolobobhora chlorotica).
3. Deep burrowing worms (up to 200cms underground), eg common earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) which is the largest worm in the UK and can measure 20-25cm long!
Worm life story - how worms grow
In good conditions worms can quickly increase their population meaning that there are more worms living in the soil. Let's follow a worm's life from being an egg inside a cocoon to becoming an adult.
Cocoon - In Spring, an adult worm lays its eggs in a cocoon, which protects them as they grow. The cocoons look like tiny lemons about 2mm long! Worms make the cocoon in their saddle and then drop it into the soil.
'Hatchlings' - Within a few weeks, if the conditions are right, up to 4 'hatchlings' emerge from the cocoon. The baby worms look like little white threads. They have to find their own food and survive by themselves as soon as they hatch out.
Young worm - The baby worms grow bigger over a few months and gradually change colour. They aren't fully grown until they get their saddle.
Adult worm - You know a worm is an adult if it has a saddle - this means it is ready to lay eggs. Some people ask if a worm is a girl or a boy. The answer is that it is both! They have both female and male parts on different segments. They still like to find another worm when they want to have babies (reproduce).
A worm's place in nature - the power of worms!
Everything in the garden is connected, we can call this the web of life. If one plant or creature disappears from the web of life, everything else is affected. Find out the vital part that worms play!
Soil engineer - They help make healthy soil
As worms dig they help make healthy soil by moving soil around and mixing in air and organic matter like dead leaves.
Worm tunnels can help water to drain away better which helps prevent flooding.
Healthy soil means plants grow and all living things need plants to survive!
Worms, and other minibeasts, eat decaying plants and animals and turn them into natural fertiliser for growing plants. Without them dead leaves would pile up and take longer to biodegrade.
Plant feeder - They help us grow food
Earthworms naturally look after the soil, but gardeners sometimes look after composting worms in a special home called a wormery.
In our veg gardens at the Botanics we have tiger worms that we feed with food scraps from our snacks. When they poo, they turn this waste food into nutrient-rich worm compost. Before we plant vegetables we dig some into the soil as a natural fertiliser to help our plants grow.
Tasty meal - They are part of the food chain
'A food chain shows the order in which living things depend on each other for food.' (Kids Britannica).
Most food chains start with plants as they make their own food using sunlight, water and air. Worms eat dying and dead plants but can you think of any animals that eat worms?
Badgers at the Botanics come out at night and dig 'snuffle holes' to find worms to eat.
Summary - So, now we know that wonderful worms are soil engineers, busy recyclers, plant feeders and tasty meals for lots of creatures!
Become a worm friend
So, now we have seen how wonderful worms are and how they help us and the planet, we can see that worms are our friends!
Will you be a friend to the worms? Here are some ways you can help:
- Tell other people how amazing worms are.
- Learn more about them! Remember to hold worms gently and for a short time so they don't dry out.
- Help someone in their garden and look after the creatures that live there.
- Save food scraps from the kitchen to feed worms on a compost heap.
- Spread autumn leaves on soil and watch over winter as they slowly disappear as worms and other creatures eat them.
Final challenge
Can you remember how worms help the soil? (Clue - they dig tunnels)
Why do we call them recyclers - what do they recycle? (Clue - they eat dead leaves)
How do they help plants grow? (Clue - they have special poo!)
What creatures eat worms?
Well done - you are now a worm friend!