Download Worm Booklet_AmarooEEC

Worm Facts
The scientific name for earthworms is Oligochaeta
(pronounced ol-ee-go-kee-tuh)
breathe through their moist skin.
can live for up to 15 years.
eat up to their own body weight
of food each day
are good for the soil
blood is clear or pale yellow.
are nature’s ultimate recyclers
cannot live where it’s too
dry or too wet.
will not always grow into
new worms if cut in half.
WORMS
WORMS
WORMS
waste is called worm
castings.
Castings make great
garden fertilizer
eat dead leaves
have no bones, jaws or
teeth and no eyes, ears or
nose.
tunnels can be up to
2 metres deep
WORMS
live in soil and compost.
have 3, 4 or 5 pair of hearts.
eggs are placed in cocoons and
left in the soil to hatch.
move by using tiny stiff hairs
under their body.
Leeches are related to earthworms.
No-one knows if earthworms feel pain.
Australia has about 350 different species of earthworms. There
are about 3000 different species in the world.
Amaroo Environmental Education Centre
Parts of a Worm
anus: the worm's bottom.
clitellum: also called the saddle. It's the thick segment on a worm where eggs are
formed and kept before they are laid. It's located about one third down the length of
its body.
crop: the special pouch inside its body in which food is kept.
ganglia: nerve endings just behind a worm's forehead. There are two of them.
gizzard: a worm's stomach-like organ where food is ground up for digestion.
intestine: the tube inside connecting the gizzard and the anus. Digested food
passes through the intestine to be absorbed into the body.
oesophagus: the tube which connects the worms mouth and stomach.
segment: one of the rings that make up the body.
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Match the Parts
Draw a line from the name to the correct body part.
Ganglia
Mouth
Crop
Intestine
Oesophagus
Clitellum
(saddle)
Gizzard
Segments
Anus
Match the Words
Draw a line from the name of the body part to the description.
Anus :
Clitellum :
Crop :
Ganglia :
Gizzard :
Intestine :
Oesophagus :
Segement :
Also called the saddle. It’s the thick segment on a worm where
eggs are formed and kept before they are laid. It’s located about
one third down the length of its body.
The special pouch inside its body in which food is kept.
The worm’s bottom.
A worm’s stomach-like organ where food is ground up for
digestion.
Nerve endings just behind a worm’s forehead. There are two of
them.
The tube inside connecting the gizzard and the anus. Digested
food passes through the intestine to be absorbed into the body.
One of the rings that make up the body.
The tube which connects the worm’s mouth and stomach.
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Label the Diagram
Cut out words and glue them on the picture to label the parts of the worm.
Saddle
Mouth
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Segments
Anus
Worm Puzzle
Cut out the picture to make a puzzle.
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