π¦ Animal world π Insects and minibeasts
Worms
π In short
A worm is an animal with a soft, long body and no backbone or legs. There are thousands of kinds of worms: some are very long, up to several meters, and some so small we can only see them with a microscope.
π€© Did you know?
- A leech has a sucker at each end of its body.
- Leeches are between 2 and 20 centimeters long.
- There are more than ten thousand kinds of segmented worms.
- Some worms can grow back if part of them is cut off.
π Find out more
π Where do worms live?
Worms live in many places: in damp soil, in seas and rivers, and some live inside the bodies of animals and people.
π Segmented worms
Segmented worms have bodies divided into many little rings; they include the useful earthworm, which ploughs the soil, and the leech, which sucks blood.
π‘ Sea worms
Many colorful, pretty worms live in the sea; some build a tube and stick out feathery strands like a flower to catch food.
π― Worms that make you ill
Some tiny worms get into the stomach with unwashed food and make people ill. That's why we wash our hands before eating and wash fruit and vegetables well.
πΈ More pictures
𧩠Test yourself
1 Does a worm have a backbone?
2 How do we protect ourselves from tummy worms?
3 Which picture shows βWormsβ?
π¦ Discover more
π· Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons
- Michael Linnenbach Β· CC BY-SA 3.0
- Brocken Inaglory Original uploader was Brocken Inaglory Β· CC BY-SA 3.0
