Worms+Worms+Worms

= = =** //__The Vermiculture Project__// **= =__ Kit, Elaina, Aubrie, Eli and Henry have started their projects. __= = They are going to be having various projects like: =
 * = composting scraps in the lunch room like salad items (April and May) =
 * = growing worms in bins (March) =
 * = worm powerpoint to show our research. (in process) =
 * = worm museum that shows the importance of worm (in April/May) =

=March 31, 2011 : The worms arrived and they have a new home in Mrs.Loucks room. They are eating various foods of their likings and so far are living well. = =April 5, 2011 : The worms are now much better, after a tragic event. The worms were overfed, wich led to them getting highly bloated intestines that led to several of them dying. Then we figured that we ought to take some food out wich we did, and we then delivered the leftovers to Mrs.Budde's room. The survivor worms are now in a better and much safer composting, and growing enviorment. = =

= =April 7, 2011 : There are now little ones in the bins. In other words **BABY** **WORMS ARE HERE!!!** = =April 11,2011 : Today Elaina, Aubrie, Henry, and I (Kit) concluded that the lettuce was the item that was killing the worms. We also concluded that we needed to add bedding in the second bin, so we did. = = These are some of the actual worms =

= April 14, 2011: 14 worms have died over 1 week. Elaina, Aubrie, Henry, and I (Kit) put a new piece of cardboard in for the worms, and we fed the worms various parts of a orange. The worms are doing very well and are still hatching and growing. = = April 27, 2011: The worms are eating the food we have gave to them and should be moving to the other bin soon. = = April 28, 2011: The worms have been eating and the cantalope rind is all gone except the part that is rough and on the outer layer. This part would be described as the tanish, holey part of the rind. = = May 3, 2011: We have been working on the worm powerpoint and a link to it will be added in the future. Eli has been added to our worm project team. = = May 11, 2011: We have been working on some experiments for favorite colors, and favorite foods. The favorite food test is still in process. The favorite colors test has been finished. = = May 16, 2011: We worked with worms this morning and plan to do this in the afternoon but when we did the worms they seem to be at the last stage in their first bin. We hope they will move onto the second bin in a few amount of days. = = May 17, 2011: The worms are moving slowly to the second bin but we have partially concluded that we need more dirt. = = May 18, 2011: We are going to work on inventory today. Get started and probably not finished. The worms are doing well and have been at the bottom for a longish time now. We are now adding dirt to the bins also. = = May 19, 2011: We amazingly finished inventory yesterday. We have around 176 worms in the bins altogether. We only found that amount and are pleased by it. We found them in groups. = =**__Favorite Colors__**: = =Worm #1 - Green & Green = =Worm #2 - Blue & Red = =Worm #3 - Blue & Green = =Worm #4 - Green & Green = =We tested the worms on a wheel twice each. We let them crawl on a color wheel that had four colors: Red, Green , Yellow , and Blue. Each worm got to crawl on the wheel for 30 seconds. The worm seemed to like Green the most and Red the least. = =__ Favorite Foods: __= = May 11, Day #1 - Cantalope = = May 12, Day #2 - Cantalope = = May 13, Day #3 - Cantalope = = May 14, 15, 16, Day #4, #5, #6(Weekend + Monday) - Cheerios = = We tested the worms in a separate bin. We let them into the dirt with four foods in it: Cantaplope, Celery, Coffee grounds + filter, and cheerios. There are 8 worms in the bin. We will let them stay in the bin for 1 week (over the weekend). The cheerios were gone when we got back on the 16th of May. The worms then were on the cantalope and none of the celery or coffee filter or grounds were eaten or touched. =

[|Making a Worm Bin] Instructions for making a wonderful home for the worms.
Worm Body Diagram



<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Harlow Solid Italic'; font-size: 26pt; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">Worms and What they Eat and Why They Eat It

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Harlow Solid Italic'; font-size: 20pt; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">Worms have tiny mouths and will take extremely small bits out of things like bacteria, fungi and protozoa. They love organic matter such as plants, fruit, compost heaps of cut grass, potato peelings and decaying animals. When the food is too large for their mouths they moisten it to make it soft and suck it in. Worms of course have no teeth and the "gizzard" does all the work. The grains of sand or soil will be ingested in with the food along with moisture (must like birds and chickens) and a grinding process occurs. When the food leaves the worm's gizzard is goes into the intestine and is dissolved and absorbed into the worm's blood which also keeps the worms moist and strong.

Added tips about worms: You cannot cut their head off or cut them in the middle and they will grow into two worms. Cutting of any vital organs will kill them. However, if you cut the tail off a worm (not advisable) then they will grow another one. Worms are essential in gardens because they keep the soil soft and full of nutrients which are good for your plants. When it rains hard worms will surface to the top of the soil and although just in theory it could be there are chemicals that go into the earth or there isn't enough oxygen so they surface.

<span style="color: #35082c; display: block; font-family: 'Harlow Solid Italic'; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #507506; display: block; font-family: 'Harlow Solid Italic'; font-size: 26pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">How Worms Work

<span style="color: #507506; display: block; font-family: 'Harlow Solid Italic'; font-size: 20pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">Seeing: Earthworms have no eyes, but they do have light receptors and can tell when they are in the dark, or in the light.

Hearing: Earthworms have no ears, but their bodies can sense the vibrations of animals moving nearby.

Thinking and feeling: Worms have a brain that connects with nerves from their skin and muscles. Their nerves can detect light, vibrations, and even some tastes, and the muscles of their bodies make movements in response.

Breathing: Worms breathe air in and carbon dioxide out, just like us, but they don't have lungs. They can't breathe through their mouth, and certainly can't breathe through their nose because they don't even have one! They breathe through their skin. Air dissolves on the mucus of their skin, so they MUST stay moist to breathe. If worms dry out, they suffocate. As fresh air is taken in through the skin, oxygen is drawn into the worm's circulatory system, and the worm's hearts pump the oxygenated blood to the head area. The movements of the worm's body make the blood flow back to the back end of the body, and the hearts pump the blood forward again. Carbon dioxide dissolves out of the blood back to the skin.

Eating: Worms do not have teeth, but their mouths are muscular and strong. Nightcrawlers can even pull leaves into their burrows using their strong mouths. The front end of the worm, its prostomium, is pointed and firm, making it easy for worms to push their way into crevices as they eat their way through their burrows. (The mouth of the worm is just behind the prostomium.) Worms swallow pieces of dirt and decaying leaves, and the food passes through the pharynx, (located in body segments 1-6), the esophagus (segments 6-13), and into the crop, which stores food temporarily. The worm's stomach is very muscular, so is called a gizzard. Like a bird's gizzard, it grinds up the food, which then moves into the intestine. The intestine extends over two-thirds of the worm's body length. In the intestine, food is broken down into usable chemicals which are absorbed into the bloodstream. Leftover soil particles and undigested organic matter pass out of the worm through the rectum and anus in the form of castings, or worm poop. Worm poop is dark, moist, soil-colored, and very rich in nutrients. That's why farmers and gardeners like to have lots of worms in their soil.

Cleaning out the blood: Worms don't have kidneys, but they have something serving the same purpose. Worms have nephridia to filter out the dead cells and other wastes that are sloughed into the blood. Wastes from the nephridia are eliminated through the same opening as the digestive wastes. Worm urine is more dilute than ours, but has ammonia as well as urea.

Heartbeats: Worms don't have just one heart. They have FIVE! But their hearts and circulatory system aren't as complicated as ours -- maybe because their blood doesn't have to go to so many body parts.

Moving around: Worms have two kinds of muscles beneath their skin. The outer layer of muscles are circular muscles, which decrease the diameter but stretch the length of the earthworm's body when contracted. The inner layer of muscles are longitudinal, which shorten but widen the body when contracted. Every segment of a worm's body (except the first and last) has four pairs of tiny, stiff hair-like projections called setae. To move forward, this is what a worm does:

First it grips the soil with some of its back setae so its back part can't move.

Then it squeezes its circular muscles, which makes its body get longer. Since the back of the body is gripping the soil, the front part of the body moves forward.

<span style="color: #507506; display: block; font-family: 'Harlow Solid Italic'; font-size: 26pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">Ways of the Worm

<span style="color: #507506; display: block; font-family: 'Harlow Solid Italic'; font-size: 20pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">Did you know that worms are 1,000 times stronger than humans? Did you know that you can never tell if a worm is male or female even because they have both male and female organs?Worms are amazing creatures, so these are just a few interesting facts about our cold-blooded friends. Another interesting characteristic of the worm is its habitat. Worms live in the soil, preferably moist soil.

Worms’ bodies are 80% water and they have no lungs. They respire through their skin. This means that humid conditions are crucial to their survival. If they do not live in moist, humid conditions, their skin will dry out and they will suffocate. The worm coats itself with mucus, which allows dissolved oxygen to pass into its bloodstream. This mucus also lubricates the worm’s body making it easy to pass through the soil. They move through the soil by contracting and relaxing their muscles. This motion causes the worm’s body segments to pull closer together. So the worm lengthens its body, then it tightens to move along both the surface and in the soil.

While worms cannot see or hear, they do have senses. These senses are not too fond of light. Because of this and due to the drying effects of the sun, worms are nocturnal creatures. This characteristic also makes living in the soil ideal, especially during the day when the sun shines bright and conditions are not as humid as they are at night. Worms come to the surface of the soil to feed in the evening hours when the world is dark and the humidity is twice as high.

Worms’ appetites and food preferences make living in the soil ideal as well. Worms consume massive amounts of decomposed organic material. This organic material can only be found on the soil. Worms eat the organic material and they spew it out in order to make worm casts. Worm castings can add up to tons each year, which help to keep the soil rich and fertile.These castings or “dung” contain 5 times more nitrogen, 7 times more phosphorus, 11 times more potassium, and 1000 times more beneficial bacterial than the material the earthworm initially ingested. Worms contribute to the environment in many other ways. They treat waste, they combat pollution, and they clear gardens, fields, and woodlands of decomposing vegetation and leaves.

When worms tunnel into the ground to lay low during the drier morning hours, they let air into the soil. This air aids tremendously in the growth process of plant roots. In addition, aerated soil absorbs water much easier. This reduces the risk of soil erosion.

Remember, all worms live in moist environments. In fact, some are even aquatic. The soil and the sea offer perfect conditions for the way worms are built from their ability to respire through their skin to their sensitivity to light to their feeding habits which rely heavily on organic materials that can be found in abundance in earths most natural environments.

This is a red worm compared to a European Nightcrawler:

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