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Sticker of Common earthworm
Bug card No. 0315 of 1,500

Common earthworm

Lumbricus terrestris
Eats: Leftovers and dead thingsSnails, slugs and wormsGardens and meadowsNo legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The common earthworm is a big pinkish-brown worm that lives in garden soil. It digs deep tunnels straight down and comes up at night to find food. It has no legs, no eyes and no bones, but it is one of the best helpers a garden can have.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect at all, it has no legs! But kids find it on every bug hunt, so it lives in Bug Wiki too.
Lives in
First from Western Europe, now in many parts of the world, in gardens, fields and meadows
Length
11 to 25 cm (4.3 to 9.8 in)
up to 25 cm when stretched out
Top speed
about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting. Hold it gently with wet hands and put it back on the soil.
What does it eat?
It pulls dead leaves down into its tunnel and eats them together with bits of soil.
For real!Photo of Common earthworm
Picture by Michael Linnenbach. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Common earthworm about 25 cm long (9.8 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)A house cat about 50 cm (20 in)
as long as 8 toy building bricks in a rowas long as 1.5 bananas end to endcould run across a dinner table in 72 seconds

How big is Common earthworm compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its body is made of about 120 to 170 ring-shaped parts called segments.

2

Tiny bristles on its body grip the soil and help it crawl.

3

On a damp night it can crawl up to 19 metres away from its tunnel.

4

Its poop, called worm casts, helps plant roots grow strong.

5

It is one of the biggest earthworms that live naturally in Europe.

you asked

Most asked questions about Common earthworm

?How big is a common earthworm?

Usually 11 to 20 centimetres long, and up to 25 centimetres when it stretches.

?What do earthworms eat?

They pull dead leaves into their tunnels and eat them with bits of soil.

?Why do earthworms come out when it rains?

Not to escape drowning, because they can live in water for weeks. Damp ground simply makes it easy for them to crawl around on top.

Myth buster

Myth: Earthworms come up when it rains because they would drown in their tunnels.

Truth: No. An earthworm can live in water with oxygen for weeks. Wet ground just makes it easy for it to crawl around on top.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Lumbricus terrestris
Group
Snails, slugs and worms
Family
Lumbricidae
Classification
Clitellata > Crassiclitellata > Lumbricidae
Lives on
Europe, North America
Also known as
Lob worm, Nightcrawler, Dew worm, Canadian nightcrawler

Where the facts come from

  1. Lumbricus terrestris (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Michael Linnenbach. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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