The Earthworm

Earthworms are made up of 150 segments.They have 4 pairs of bristles on every segment except the first and last.They have no eyes, no ears, no tongue and no teeth. They have five hearts. Worms eat leaves, soil and stones. The worm pushes his throat through his mouth to grab the food. They store the food in a bag called a crop. The food then passes into the gizzard and here they use the stones to crush the food.

A worm has light receptors on most segments to help them tell the difference between light and dark.A worm has a flat tail. A worm is darker in colour on top and light underneath.

Earth Worms can die in the hot weather as the sunshine dries out the moisture needed to keep the worm alive.The worms enemies are moles, hedgehogs, birds, frogs and man who uses them as fish bait.

The worm helps the gardener by burrowing holes in the ground. This helps aerate the soil and mix it up.

Worms are also good for recycling. Read all about this at http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/noflash/worm/pg000223.html