ABC

FACTS ABOUT WORMS :

worm, any of various unrelated invertebrate animals that typically have soft, slender, elongated bodies. The major groups of worms include various species of flatworm, annelid, ribbon worm, spiny-headed worm, and aschelminth.

• Worms have no fewer than 5 hearts!

• Earthworms are hermaphrodites, their bodies contain both male and female reproductive organs.

• Earthworms don't have lungs, but instead breathe through their skin as long as it stays moist.

• If a worm dries out, it will slowly choke to death. On the other hand, if a worm is trapped in its burrow during heavy rain, the oxygen supply in the water will be quickly exhausted. This is one reason why worms crawl to the surface after a downpour. If they don't evacuate, they will suffocate.

• There are thousands of different kinds of earthworms worldwide (some encyclopias state 1900, 2200, 3000, 6000 or more. I guess just toooooooooo many to count accurately!

• Baby worms hatch from cocoons smaller than a grain of rice.

• Worms don't have eyes , but are sensitive to light.

• The Earthworms body is bristling with sense organs-as many as 1,900 on just one segment. These receptors give the worm a sense of touch, the capacity to taste, and the ability to detect light.

• Each earthworm is both male and female, producing both eggs and sperm.

• The earthworm’s digestive system is a tube running straight from the mouth, located at the tip of the front end of the body, to the rear of the body, where digested material is passed to the outside.

One of the most amazing things about worms is that they can live for years and years as long as the climate and conditions are right.  Worm’s bodies are roughly made up of ninety percent water and one of the ways that a worm will die is because of the water drying up!  One of the coolest things about worms is that when they die, their body just becomes part of the compost in the soil and throughout their life and death, they are helping the soil one way or another!