wiggly earthworms
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Wet and WigglyEarthworms are covered with wet,slimy skin.
Their long, wiggly bodies have no legs
and no bones.
Many people think they are gross.
Yet earthworms are one of the most
important animals in the world.
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Earthworms are
found all over the world.
They can live wherever
the soil is not frozen
or too dry.
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African giant
earthworm
Short and LongThere are about 4,900 kinds of
earthworms.
The smallest is about one inch (2.5 cm)
long.
The largest is 12 feet (3.6 m) longabout the same length as a big
surfboard.
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nightcrawler
The bestknown
earthworm in the United
States is about inches(1 cm) long. Many people call
this worm the nightcrawler
because it stays undergroundduring the day and comes
out at night to eat.
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tail end
segments
thick band
head end
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On the InsideInside its body, an earthworm has a tiny
brain, five pairs of hearts, and a long
intestine.
The brain controls the worms movements
and helps it sense the world around it.
The hearts pump blood through the
worms body.
The intestine helps the worm turn food
into fuel that its body can use.
Some kinds of
earthworms have blood
that is red, like human
blood. The red blood
gives these worms their
reddish color.
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mouth
brain
throatintestine
hearts
11
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Underground
LivingMany kinds of earthworms live in
underground tunnels.
To dig them, the worms push their longbodies through the soil.
Some dig tunnels that run just an inch
or two (2.5 to 5 cm) below the ground.
Others, such as the nightcrawler, dig
tunnels that go deep down into the
ground.
A nightcrawlers tunnel can be six feet
(2 m) deep.
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By digging tunnels,earthworms help all kinds
of plants to grow. How?
They loosen the soil so
that air and water can
reach the roots.
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earthworms
mouth
leaf
1
Worm FoodEarthworms eat dead leaves and other
pieces of rotting plants.
They also eat soil, seeds, and small twigs.
They have no teeth, so they suck the
food into their mouths.
Inside their intestines, the parts that
they cannot use are turned into waste
called castings.
The castings pass out of an opening at
the end of the worms tail.
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castings
1
Some of the food in
a worms intestine breaks
down into tiny bits that can help
plants grow. These bits make
up part of a worms castings.
When a worm leaves its castings
behind, the tiny bits go into
the ground and make soil
rich and healthy.
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frog
1
An earthworms meaty body makes a
good meal for many different animals.
Robins and other birds pull worms from
their tunnels when they come out to eat.
Shrews, moles, and other furryanimals that live in tunnels hunt them
underground.
Toads, frogs, snakes, and skunks like to
eat earthworms, too.
Worms for Dinner
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mole
1
Moles catch
earthworms and store
them in their underground
homes. Then, during the
winter, when food is hard
to find, the moles eat
the worms.
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1
Getting a GripAn earthworm cant do much to
defend itself from enemies that live
underground.
It can try to save itself from a hungry
bird, however.
Usually, the bird grabs the worm by the
head end as the worm pokes out of the
ground.
Using its body and its bristles, the worm
grips the sides of its tunnel and holdson tight.
Sometimes it wins the struggle and is
able to slip back into the earth.
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1
A bird often bites off
part of a worm while pulling on
it. If the bittenoff part is from
the head end, the worm usuallydies. If the bittenoff part is from
the tail end, it often grows back,
and the worm survives.
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Hundreds of earthworms can live below
a small yard or garden.
That idea may seem gross, but in fact
its good news.
Earthworms are an important food for
birds and other animals.
They help plants by bringing air, water,
and rich matter into the soil.
Earthworms dont just live in the
earththey are good for the earth.
Good for the Earth
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Some people raise
worms and sell their castings
to farmers, gardeners, and
stores that sell gardening
supplies. The people who buythe castings mix them into the
soil to help plants grow.
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Here are four worms that are
closely related to earthworms. Likeall worms, they are invertebrates.
An animal that has a skeleton with
a backbone inside its body is a
vertebrate (VURtuhbrit). Mammals,
birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians are
all vertebrates.
An animal that does not have a skeleton
with a backbone inside its body is an
invertebrate (inVURtuhbrit). More
than 95 percent of all kinds of animals
on Earth are invertebrates.
Some invertebrates, such as insects and
spiders, have hard skeletonscalled
exoskeletonson the outside of their
bodies. Other invertebrates, such as worms
and jellyfish, have soft, squishy bodies
with no exoskeletons to protect them.
A World of Inver tebrates
Leech Clam Worm
Potworm Marine Worm
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bristles(BRISSuhlz)
hairlike parts
on the outside of
an earthworms
body
intestine(inTESStin)
the long,tubeshaped part
on the inside of an
earthworms body
where food is
turned into useful
fuel and waste
castings(KASTingz)waste that is
passed out of an
earthworms body
after it eats
Glossary
backbone(BAKbohn)
a group of
connected bones
that run along
the backs of some
animals, such as
dogs, cats, and fish;also called a spine
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Read More
Learn More OnlineTo learn more about earthworms, visit
www.bearportpublishing.com/NoBackboneCreepyCrawlers
Himmelman, John. An Earthworms
Life. New York: Childrens Press (2000).
Llewellyn, Claire, and Barrie Watts.
Earthworms. New York: Franklin Watts (2002).
About the Author
Index
Natalie Lunis has written many science and nature books for children.She lives in the Hudson River Valley, just north of New York City.
African giant earthworm 6
backbone 22
blood 10
body 4, 89, 1011, 12, 16, 18, 22
brain 1011
bristles 8, 18
castings 1415, 21
clam worm 22
cocoons 8
eggs 8
enemies 1617, 1819
food 10, 1415
hearts 1011
intestine 1011, 1415
leech 22
marine worm 22
mouth 11, 14
nightcrawlers 7, 12
plants 13, 1415, 2021
potworm 22
segments 89
size 67
skin 4
soil 5, 8, 1213, 1415, 2021tunnels 1213, 16, 18