Worm Trivia
Did you know this about Worms………………?
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An earthworm can only grow so long. The length of an adult will depend on what kind of worm it is, how many segments it has, how old it is and how well fed it is. An earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) can measure from 90 – 300 millimetres long.
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A worm has no arms, legs, ears or eyes.
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There are approximately 2,700 different kinds of earthworms.
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Worms live where there is food, moisture, oxygen and a desired temperature. If they do not have these things, they go somewhere else.
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In one acre of land, there can be more than a million earthworms.
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The largest earthworm ever found was in South Africa and measured 22 feet from its nose to the tip of its tail.
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Worms tunnel deeply in the soil and bring subsoil closer to the surface mixing it with the topsoil. Slime, a secretion of earthworms, contains nitrogen. Nitrogen is an important nutrient for plants. The sticky slime helps to hold clusters of soil particles together in formations called ‘aggregates’.
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Charles Darwin spent 39 years studying earthworms more than 100 years ago.
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Worms are cold-blooded creatures.
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Worms can grow a new tail, but not grow a new head if they are cut off.
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Baby worms are not born. They hatch from cocoons smaller than a grain of rice.
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The Australian Gippsland Earthworm grows to 12 feet long and can weigh 1 – 1 1/2 pounds.
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Even though worms do not have eyes, they can sense light, especially at their anterior (front end). They move away from light and will become paralyzed if exposed to light for too long.
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If a worms skin dries out, it will die.
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Worms can eat equivalent to their own weight each day.
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Worms are about 1,000 times stronger than people (relatively to their size, of course).
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The longest earthworm is the African giant earthworm, which can grow up to 6.7 metres (22 feet) long.
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Worms are tough little creatures. If you accidentally cut an earthworm in half while gardening, only half will die. The piece with the saddle (the fatter, pink part) will survive. When it is really cold outside in winter or baking hot in the summer, worms are able to survive by burrowing deep into the soil – at the same time escaping from light, which they do not like.