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What happens to a Worm when it breaks in half? Does it die or does it magically grow another head? |
The Earthworm's Enemies
Because
the body of the earthworm is 70% protein, they are a sought after prey by
birds, especially robins, and by burrowing animals like moles. If you watch
a robin hunting, it pauses, cocks its head, then strikes with its beak,
pulling a worm from the ground. The robin, with its keen eyesight, detects
the earthworm’s movement in the grass. The earthworm, both sightless and
earless, feels the vibrations of the bird on the surface of the ground.
When robins
try to pull earthworms out of the ground, the worm uses their setae
to hold on tight to the wall of its home. Sometimes the worm holds on
so tight and the robin pulls so hard that the worm comes apart. The robin
keeps the front end and the hind end of the worm wriggles back into its
burrow. If a bird pulls off the first 7 or 8 rings of the worms body,
new segments will grow, if a worm is pulled in half, the head will grow
back.
This text has been adapted for scholastic use only from the 79th Street Boat Basin Flora and Fauna Society web site and other respectable sources.
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The early European settlers brought earthworms to North America in the 17th and 18th centuries. If earthworms existed in North America prior to this, they were probably wiped out during the last ice age, 10,000 to 50,000 years ago. Some scientists estimate that there are approximately 50,000 earthworms per acre of moist soil. Living in deep, dark, long, and narrow tunnels or burrows under the ground, earthworms cannot tolerate heat or sun, so during the summer they come to the surface only at night.
After a rain have you noticed multitudes of earthworms on the
surface? This happens because the wet surface allows the worm
to move without drying out.
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