Why did the earthworm get such a name? Information and research project “Why are earthworms needed? Earthworms or earthworms are a suborder of oligochaete worms from the order Haplotaxida

SOIL FLOODING. WHY ARE WORMS CALLED EARTHWORMS?

Let's consider the opposite phenomenon of soil drying out - its flooding by rain, water from melting snow, and river floods.

In itself, being under water is quite safe for worms. If there are no substances harmful to them in the water, it is not overheated and contains a certain amount of oxygen, worms can live in it indefinitely for a long time. For example, it turned out that the big red worm Maybe live underwater for about a year. A number of researchers conducted experiments to determine the ability of worms to live under water. It turned out that at room temperature they can live in aquariums for months, and for this they do not need to particularly worry about supplying the water with oxygen. On the contrary, energetically blowing air through the water has a harmful effect on the worms, since the shaking of the water produced by a continuous flow of air disturbs them too much, like animals that are extremely sensitive to tactile stimuli. In this regard, deep constrictions form on their body, and then, through active local contraction of muscles in the middle of the body or at its posterior end, pieces of the body are thrown away. This is the so-called autotomy - a phenomenon that occurs in lumbricids under very different adverse effects. It can be useful in cases of damage to the posterior half of the body, when the worm has to drag behind it dying segments that have become redundant and impede movement.

These segments are discarded, the wound heals, and then the missing body part is restored through regeneration. It is possible that autotomy can save a worm’s life when attacked by an enemy (mole, bird, toad).

As for oxygen, then earthworms, like many of their aquatic relatives, can be content with extremely small amounts of it in the water. It has been proven that they can live under water with only 2.5% dissolved oxygen (Dolk a. V. d. Paauw, 1929). This is explained, on the one hand, by the presence of hemoglobin in their blood, and on the other, by an extremely slow metabolism compared to other soil invertebrates. While nematodes (very small thread-like worms) consume 890-1440 mm8 of oxygen per 1 g of weight per hour, and enchytraeids - 50 mm3, earthworms absorb only 23.3-3G.6 mm3 of oxygen per 1 g of weight per hour (Kiihuelt , 1950, 205).

A prerequisite for worm survival underwater is to protect them from light. Even scattered light disturbs them, and if you keep the worms in a room in the light, they begin to autotomy. Direct sunlight containing ultra-violet rays, is destructive for them: it is enough to leave earthworms in the sun in a short time so that they die.

Observations of earthworms in nature also indicate the possibility of living under water. Not to mention the species whose typical place of life is coastal groups of reservoirs (octagonal Eiseniella, Eisenia Lenberg), representatives of many terrestrial lumbrits are not uncommonly found in the soils of reservoirs, and far from the shore. Such finds are especially frequent in summer in arid areas, where the entire population of earthworms involuntarily presses against the water. When studying the bottom fauna of the ponds of one of fisheries Krasnodar region turned out to be almost the main integral part of this fauna are typically terrestrial species lumbricnd.

We have already mentioned above the role of water flows in the spread of worms. These facts also indicate wide possibilities for the underwater existence of the latter. Huge areas of river valley meadows are under water every year for a month or more. Flooding of river floodplains usually begins only in May, that is, a considerable time after the worms have awakened from their winter sleep and began active activity and laying cocoons. Samples taken at the height of the flood show that worms during this period are generally in the same places as at other times of the year. They are mobile, in good condition and are kept in the moss or turf layer. On the flooded floodplain, there is a significant flow rate, the water is cold and contains a lot of oxygen. Under these conditions, worms tolerate life well in water, and their population in the floodplain does not become smaller after the water declines (Beklemishev and Chetyrkina, 1935).

All of the above seems to indicate that flooding soils with water cannot have any special significance for worms and that these animals, in their way of life, can be characterized as amphibians.

However, this is not at all true. The flooding of soils with water is associated with a periodically erupting catastrophic phenomenon in the life of the worm population, namely their mass death. It is widely known that after heavy rains a huge number of worms appear on the surface of the earth, some still alive, some dying, some dead. In hilly and mountainous areas, there. Where rain streams form temporary streams, you can see accumulations of worm corpses, which can be numbered in hundreds and thousands. But out of the blue, often after rains it is literally impossible to take a step without seeing one or several worms on the surface of the soil, in a rather pitiful state. This phenomenon was well known to Darwin, who wrote: “After heavy rain Following a prolonged drought, a huge number of dead worms are often noticed on the surface. Mr. Galton informed me that on one of these occasions (March 1, 1881) in one of the alleys of Hyde Park there was one dead worm at a distance of two and a half steps. In one place, over the course of sixteen steps, he counted no less than 45 dead worms.”

Massive crawling of worms to the surface after rains is a very common and well-known phenomenon. The very name “earthworms” obviously arose in connection with this phenomenon here or in Germany, where these animals have a similar name (Regen-wurm; in other languages ​​their name is not associated with rain). Apparently, there was once a belief that worms rained from the sky. Until recently, this origin of animals was also attributed by the illiterate population to frogs, which appear in large numbers after rain.

Naturally, not a single lumbrical researcher has passed by the described phenomenon, thanks to which a decent amount of literature has accumulated about it. This attention is certainly deserved, since the mass death of these useful animals cannot be treated indifferently. However, it is still difficult to fully understand its causes, and therefore it is even more difficult to say anything about the possibilities of combating this phenomenon. The last question has not yet been asked.

It is generally believed that you are crawling with worms on the surface of the earth - a consequence lack of oxygen in the soil, coming there after the rains. It has been proven that soil rich in humus (especially dry soil) absorbs oxygen and therefore oxygen-deprived water reaches the worms, despite the fact that the soil is saturated with raindrops. The air that was previously present in the pores of the soil is displaced by water. As a result, the worms crawl to the surface of the earth, but before they reach! atmospheric air, die from lack of oxygen.

It was said above that worms tolerate life under water very well. However, this fact in itself does not contradict the given explanation for the death of worms after the rains. Firstly, worms are only in cold water can live for a long time, and secondly - what is most important - water and wet soil are far from the same thing. In experiments with beetle larvae (wireworms), it was established that these animals tolerate life under water relatively well, but die very quickly in soils abundantly saturated with water. M. S. Gilyarov (1949) believes that this difference is due to the fact that in the second case, the change of water near the animal occurs much more slowly and, in addition, most of the surface of its skin is impermeable to oxygen dissolved in water due to its close contact with solid soil particles. It is very likely that these considerations apply to earthworms as well.

It is absolutely clear that the crawling and death of worms is associated with soil saturation with water and lack of oxygen. Therefore, it is impossible to completely deny the given explanation, as some researchers do (for example, Focke, 1930). However, one cannot be satisfied with it either. First of all, it is obvious that this disaster occurs in worms only under a combination of some conditions that are more unknown. Rain itself, of any intensity and duration, does not cause the death of worms. It has already been said above that the combination of rainfall with a previous drought is not necessary. Mass death of worms is also observed after rains that fall on wet soil, when the absorption of oxygen by the soil cannot be so significant as to cause sudden mass suffocation of worms. In particular, their crawling is very often observed in the spring, when the soil is wet. It was assumed that the described phenomenon occurs when, after heavy rain, a sharp morning cold snap occurs, but this hypothesis also turned out to be untenable. It can occur in a period of time from early spring to late autumn, under very different meteorological conditions. Consequently, what the combination of conditions under which sudden mass death of worms occurs remains unknown. Thus, it is not yet possible to predict or prevent this phenomenon.

It is also unclear why worms die from suffocation in soil flooded with water, whereas in an oxygen-free environment, as experimental data show, they live for at least hours, and with very small amounts of oxygen in the environment indefinitely.

During rain, a drop in the amount of oxygen cannot occur instantly, but how much time does it take for worms to get out of the burrow to the surface, taking into account that they are in normal conditions Are they always concentrated in the upper layers of the soil?

Interesting experiments by Focke (1930) showed that questions about the reasons for worms coming to the surface and the reasons for their death should be considered separately. If you take a glass aquarium, fill it halfway with soil, place worms in it, and then fill it with water so that it stands a layer above soil surface, then the worms immediately begin to move violently and very soon they all end up on the surface. Moreover, if you create conditions such that flooding with water is not accompanied by a decrease in the amount of oxygen in the soil, then the result will be the same: after flooding the soil with water, all the worms come to the surface after a short period of time. If you introduce water into the soil not from above, but from below, the worms still end up on the surface. Therefore, it is impossible to say that they attracts air oxygen upward. Further, if nitrogen is introduced into a closed vessel with soil from above, through a stopper, and the gas is released through a hole in the bottom of the vessel, covered with a mesh, then the soil air is displaced by nitrogen and the worms find themselves in an oxygen-free environment. If you keep the worms in a nitrogen atmosphere for more than 5 hours, then they all die, but not a single one comes to the surface. At the same time, no matter how slowly the air is replaced with nitrogen, the worms do not crawl to the surface. But if you keep them in a nitrogen atmosphere for 2/4 hours, and then pour water on the ground through a tube through which nitrogen was passed, then half-smothered worms appear on the surface, and those removed from the vessel quickly recover.

All the facts considered do not allow us to answer the question: what exactly causes the mass death of worms that occurs from time to time after heavy rains? We can only say that, as the study has discovered, this question is not as simple as it seemed recently. It is one of those issues to which the attention of both biologists and soil scientists should be attracted.

The above quotation from Darwin's book shows that this phenomenon is observed but only after a “long drought”: there could not have been a drought in Loidopa in February!

Presence earthworm in the ground is the ultimate dream of any farmer. They are excellent assistants in farming. In order to make their way, they have to move a lot underground.

Over the course of millions of years, they made the earth much more fertile. On rainy days they can be seen on the ground, but are not easy to catch. They have enough muscular body in order to hide from people underground without much difficulty.

They occupy the main place in the structure of the soil, enriching it with humus and many important components, making the yield much higher. This is work of earthworms.

Where did this name come from? When it rains, the underground burrows of rainflies fill with water, causing them to crawl out into the open. How to characterize vermicompost?

This is an amazing substance that regulates soil moisture well. When the soil lacks water, it is released from the humus, and vice versa, when there is an excess of it, vermicompost easily absorbs it.

In order to understand how these spineless creatures can produce such valuable material, it is enough to understand how and what they eat. Their favorite delicacy is half-rotten leftovers. flora, consumed by these creatures simultaneously with the soil.

The soil is mixed with natural additives while moving inside. In the waste products of these creatures, the amount of important elements necessary for plants exceeds many times.

Features and habitat of earthworms

These creatures are considered oligochaetes. Earthworm body has very different lengths. It stretches from 2 cm to 3 m. There are from 80 to 300 segments. The structure of an earthworm unique and interesting.

They move with the help of short bristles. They are on every segment. The only exception is the anterior ones, which have no bristles. The number of bristles is also not unambiguous, there are eight or more of them, the number reaches several dozen. Large quantity bristles from the tropics.

Concerning circulatory system earthworms, then they have it closed and well developed. Their blood color is red. These creatures breathe thanks to the sensitivity of their skin cells.

The skin, in turn, has a special protective mucus. Their sensitive recipes are completely undeveloped. They have no organs of vision at all. Instead they are found on the skin special cells that react to light.

In the same places there are taste buds, smell and touch. The ability to regenerate is well developed. They can easily recover their backside after damage.

IN large family The worms we are currently talking about include about 200 species. Earthworms There are two types. They have distinctive features. It all depends on your lifestyle and biological features. The first category includes earthworms that find food for themselves in the ground. The latter get their food from it.

Worms that get their food underground are called litter worms and are found under the soil no deeper than 10 cm and do not go deeper even when the soil freezes or dries out.

Soil worms are another category of worms. These creatures can sink a little deeper than the previous ones, by 20 cm. For burrowing worms that feed under the soil, the maximum depth starts from 1 meter and deeper.

Burrow worms are generally difficult to notice on the surface. They almost never appear there. Even during mating or feeding, they do not completely protrude from their burrows.

Life of an earthworm The burrower goes completely from start to finish deep underground in agricultural work. Earthworms can be found everywhere, except in cold arctic places.

Burrowing and bedding worms are comfortable in waterlogged soils. They are found on the banks of reservoirs, in swampy areas and in subtropical areas with humid climate. The taiga and tundra are loved by litter and soil-litter worms.

And the soil is best grown in steppe chernozems. They can adapt to all places, but they feel most comfortable earthworms in the soil coniferous-broadleaf forests. IN summer time years they live closer to the surface of the earth, and in winter time sink deeper.

Character and lifestyle of the earthworm

Most of The life of these spineless ones passes underground. Why earthworms are they most often found there? This keeps them safe. Networks of corridors at various depths are dug underground by these creatures.

They have a whole underground kingdom. Mucus helps them move even in the hardest soils. They cannot be under the sun for a long time; for them it is like death because they have a very thin layer of skin.

Ultraviolet radiation poses a real danger to them, so worms are mostly found underground and only in rainy days. cloudy weather crawl to the surface.

Worms prefer to lead night look life. It is at night that you can find large numbers of them on the surface of the earth. Initially earthworms in the soil They leave part of their body in order to reconnoiter the situation and only after the surrounding space has not frightened them in any way do they gradually go outside in order to get food for themselves.

Their body can stretch perfectly. A large number of The worm's bristles bend backward, which protects it from external factors. It is almost impossible to pull out a whole worm without tearing it because, for the purpose of self-defense, it clings to the walls of the burrow with its bristles.

Earthworms sometimes reach quite large sizes

It has already been said that the role of earthworms for people it is simply incredible. They not only improve the soil and replenish it useful substances, and also loosen it, and this helps saturate the soil with oxygen. In winter, in order to survive in the cold, they have to go deeper so as not to experience frost and hibernate.

They sense the arrival of spring by the warmed soil and rainwater that begins to circulate in their burrows. With the arrival of spring earthworm crawls out and begins his labor agrotechnical activities.

Earthworm nutrition

This is a spineless omnivore. Earthworm organs are designed so that they can swallow huge amounts of soil. Along with this, rotten leaves are used, everything except hard ones that smell unpleasant to the worm, as well as fresh plants.

The figure shows the structure of an earthworm

They drag all this food underground and begin to eat there. They do not like the leaf veins; the worms only eat the soft part of the leaf. It is known that earthworms are thrifty creatures.

They store leaves in their burrows as reserves, neatly folding them. Moreover, they may have a special hole dug for storing provisions. They fill the hole with food and cover it with a lump of earth. They do not visit their storage until necessary.

Reproduction and lifespan of an earthworm

These spineless hermaphrodites. They are attracted by smell. They mate, connect with their mucous membranes and, cross-fertilizing, exchange sperm.

The worm embryo is stored in a strong cocoon on the parent's belt. It is not exposed to even the most difficult external factors. Most often, one worm is born. They live 6-7 years.

Someone may have questions: why are worms living in the ground called earthworms; why earthworm crawls to the surface during rains and dies in large numbers on the roads.

It turns out that in soil flooded with water, earthworms simply suffocate and crawl to the surface to breathe. They cannot breathe in water because they do not have gills and breathe through their skin. And they are called rain ones because they are seen on the roads precisely during heavy rains.

However, in the air, especially in the sun, the worms also feel bad, since their skin dries out and loses the ability to secrete the mucus that moisturizes the body, necessary for breathing.

An ordinary earthworm, curled into a ball, overwinters at a depth of 2-3 m, being in a state hibernation until the spring warmth, from which it awakens and moves closer to the soil surface. Earthworm tunnels go to a depth of at least 60-80 cm.

These hardworking creatures spend almost their entire lives underground. In the absence of technology, the worm makes its way with its own head - it confidently pushes and even swallows the soil, filling its spacious intestinal canal with decaying substances of animal or plant origin.

If earthworms in the soil If they don’t find enough of these substances, they go out on a night “hunt”, dragging into the ground not yet rotten plants, straws, feathers and even pieces of paper.

However, in search of food, they do not go far from the hole, but hold on to its edges with the rear end of their body. At the first sign of danger, the worms return to their underground kingdom.

The food they swallow is processed by the muscular stomach and moistened with gastric juice. Its remains are thrown to the surface in the form of characteristic tubercles of dark granular earth. This process helps neutralize acidic soils thanks to calcite formed in the worms' esophagus.

The work of an earthworm in that by penetrating the soil with passages, it promotes the penetration of air and water into its depths, accelerates the decomposition of plant residues, creates a strong granular structure, and also, by digesting plant residues, increases the content of substances beneficial to plants, thereby bringing enormous benefits.

Charles Darwin composed a real ode to the earthworm. He noted that the earthworm, found in many countries with damp climates, played a huge role in the history of the Earth.

“Earthworms,” writes the scientist, “at regular intervals carefully turn over all the soil, like a gardener preparing crushed earth for his most exquisite plants. In this state, the soil becomes especially suitable for retaining moisture and soluble substances, as well as for the process of formation of nitrate salts, which are so necessary for plants.”

Unfortunately, earthworms are the most vulnerable and persecuted creatures. These defenseless, outwardly unattractive creatures are eaten by shrews and hedgehogs. They are hunted not only by birds of prey, but also by some granivorous birds.

Any garden owner can obtain high-quality vermicompost fertilizer, that is, humus, during the summer-autumn season.

In order for worms to produce humus, they need to be collected in one place. You can make a catch trench in a damp place by filling it with compost and covering it with straw or rags. At the right time, you will always find the required number of worms there.

Source material, i.e. The compost should be kept moist and watered regularly. The height of the compost heap is up to half a meter, the area is approximately 1 * 2 m. Two holes are made in the center of the heap and into each we pour the prepared worms from a bucket along with the soil in which they lived. Then we level the surface and cover it with straw, rags or dark film.

For four to five weeks, the worms' home needs only periodic moistening. All this time, the worms will lay cocoons, one each week.

Young worms 4-6 mm long will appear from laid eggs in two to three weeks, and over the summer the mass of worms increases 20-50 times.

In addition to regularly moistening the bed, it is necessary to increase its surface with a compost layer by 15-20 cm once every two weeks from June to September. In this case, the height of the bed will gradually increase, and to prevent it from falling apart, it can be covered on the sides with boards.

During the summer upper layer the beds will be inhabited by worms, and the lower one will turn into high-quality fertilizer. Here why earthworms – irreplaceable helpers gardener and gardener.

In the fall, before frost, we transfer the top layer, saturated with worms, to a new place, equipping a second cultivator with compost. And part of the lower one can be stored for future use.

Valentina Fomina
Information and research project “Why are earthworms needed?”

Introduction

Once in kindergarten, teacher Valentina Vyacheslavovna read a fairy tale about earthworms. We are interested question: « Why are earthworms needed??» . And we noticed that in wet weather, after rain they appear on the surface of the earth, and the rest of the time they are in the soil. That's why they are called rain? The fairy tale said that earthworms are very useful. Is it really?

the main objective project Why are earthworms needed??

Find out the meaning earthworms.

Tasks:

Use experiments to test the hypothesis.

Get an idea about earthworms

Learn to take care of earthworms.

Hypothesis:

1. Worms benefit or worms cause harm.

Program of practical actions in implementation Topics:

1. Definition of the topic, goal, objectives

2. Collection of material: (scientific literature; magazines, newspapers, articles; information on the Internet; scientific documentary film)

3. Study of the collected information, experience

4. Conclusions from information

5. Speech before kindergarten students and teachers

6. Design of work

7. Protection project in kindergarten

8. Dissemination of results

1. Main part

From the encyclopedia and the Internet learned:

An earthworm is called"Night Crawling". It turns out that on the soil surface worms crawl out at dusk and at night, and during the day - only after rain.

Latin name worms means – vermes. Really. Worms very similar to vermicelli. Therefore, the science of earthworms and called it vermicology. Worms are large invertebrate soil animals that feed on plant debris. Earthworms– these are continuously operating mini-factories for the production of humus (soil organic matter).

The earthworm has an elongated, 1 - 2 cm long, on average 10 -16 cm body, but sometimes up to 3 meters. Unlike round worms, whole body earthworm divided by ring constrictions into 100 - 180 segments. Each segment has small bristles. With these bristles worm clings to uneven soil when moving.

Valentina Vyacheslavovna brought to the group earthworms. We took worm in hand, and found that his skin was wet and covered with mucus. This slime makes it easier to move worm in the soil. In addition, penetration into the body occurs only through moist skin. oxygen worm necessary for breathing. Earthworms don't breathe air, but by skin. Cells accumulate air, then release it to all organs. During rain water fills the passages earthworms underground. To avoid suffocation, they have to crawl to the surface. That's why they call them that - earthworms. They crawl onto the asphalt because it is warmer there than on the surface of the earth. Birds don't peck them on the road.

We found a very interesting educational cartoon on the Internet. "Journey earthworm» . From it we learned about life earthworms, their nutrition and reproduction.

In the encyclopedia we looked at the structure and appearance worms.

Such inconspicuous and small animals have complex internal structure. Worms have a heart, blood vessels, stomach, intestines and other internal organs.

Under the skin there are muscles fused with it. Circular muscles make the body worm thin and long, and longitudinal ones shorten and thicken it. Thanks to the alternating work of these muscles, movement occurs worm.

Experiment 1

We took a transparent container and filled it layers: 1st layer - earth, 2nd layer - sand, 3rd layer - earth. A clear boundary between the layers was visible. Then I placed it there worms. The ground was periodically sprinkled with water. After 1.5 months the border disappeared "sand - earth".

The result was a homogeneous mass.

Based on the experimental data, we can conclude that by penetrating the soil with passages, earthworms loosen it, promote aeration and moisture at depth, mix the soil layers and thus increase soil fertility. Our experiment took place in winter, so we fed worms tea waste, since no wilted foliage was found.

The hypothesis was confirmed.

Experiment 2

After analyzing the condition of indoor plants, the teacher and I chose a drooping nephrolepis plant and placed it in the soil obtained as a result of 1 experiment. After some time, we noticed that the plant began to grow better. The branches have become stronger, the bush is more magnificent, the color is richer. Conclusion: earthworms improved the structure of the earth.

The hypothesis was confirmed.

Experiment 3

Let's find out if it's necessary worms in potted indoor plants.

The teacher and I placed earthworms in a pot and planted a flower. After 2 weeks we noticed that the flower began to fade. We carefully removed the flower from the pot and carefully examined the root system. We found that worms ate the roots of the flower.

Conclusion: Worms not in pots of indoor flowers needed.

By the way, useful information: to delete worm from the pot, you can put the pot in water and worms crawl to the surface on their own.

The hypothesis was confirmed.

Earthworms are very numerous in the soil, and their activity has great value in soil-forming processes.

Digging in the ground worms loosen the soil and thereby open up access to air and water necessary for the complete decomposition of organic matter. They drag rotten leaves and other plant and animal remains inside their underground passages and thereby contribute to enriching the soil with humus, and, rummaging in the depths, they pass the earth through their intestines, mix the soil and increase the thickness of its fertile layer. On loosened, mixed and humus-enriched soil, vegetation develops luxuriantly. But worms can eat plant roots. That's why indoor plants they are not needed, but you can use the soil after processing worms. But it is assumed that in the near future worms will become one of the popular culinary dishes.

In conclusion, we would like to conclude that earthworms– these are amazing animals!

We told and showed our project, in other groups, on parent meeting and in your group. We would also like to invite you to get to know our project Municipal Economy Committee, we think that ours project will help improve the greening of our city.

List of used literature:

1. Zenkevich L. A. Life of invertebrate animals Part I Moscow 1968;

2. Iogonin A. M. Earthworms Kovrov 2002;

3. http://animalregister.net

4. http://sng-portal.ru/arhiv/podkormka-rasteniy/chem-polezny-dozhdevye-chervi/

5. http://atcm.pp.ua/foto-zemlyanoj-chervyak.html

6. http://knu.znate.ru/docs/index-568659.html

Annex 1

earthworm

Once upon a time there lived a brother and sister – Volodya and Natasha. Volodya though younger than sister, but be brave. And Natasha is such a coward! Total was afraid: mice, frogs, worms and cross spider who spun his web in the attic.

In the summer, children were playing hide and seek near the house, when suddenly the sky darkened, frowned, lightning flashed, large heavy drops first fell to the ground, and then a torrential downpour poured out. rain.

The children hid from rain on the veranda and began to watch as foamy streams ran along the paths, large air bubbles jumped through the puddles, and the wet leaves became even brighter and greener.

Soon the rain died down, the sky brightened, the sun came out, and hundreds of small rainbows began to play. raindrops.

The children put on their rubber boots and went for a walk. They ran through puddles, and when they touched wet tree branches, they brought down a whole waterfall of sparkling streams on each other.

The garden smelled strongly of dill. They crawled out onto the soft, damp black soil earthworms . After all rain flooded their underground houses, and to worms They became damp and uncomfortable.

Volodya raised worm, put it on his palm and began to examine it, and then wanted to show it a worm for my sister. But she recoiled in fear and screamed:

Volodka! Stop this crap now! How can you take worms in hand, they are so disgusting - slippery, cold, wet.

The girl burst into tears and ran home.

Volodya did not want to offend or frighten his sister at all; he threw worm to the ground and ran after Natasha.

To the earthworm named Vermi felt hurt and offended.

“What stupid children! – thought Vermi. “They don’t even realize how much benefit we bring to their garden.”

Grumbling dissatisfied, Vermi crawled to the zucchini bed, where they were going to chat under the large fleecy leaves. earthworms from all over the garden.

What are you so excited about, Vermi? – his friends asked him carefully.

You can’t even imagine how the children hurt me! You work, try, loosen the soil - and no gratitude!

Vermi talked about how Natasha called him disgusting and disgusting.

What ingratitude! - they were indignant earthworms. “After all, we not only loosen and fertilize the soil, but through the underground passages we have dug, water and air flow to the roots of the plants. Without us, plants will grow worse and may even dry out completely.

Let's all crawl into the neighboring garden together. A real gardener lives there, Uncle Pasha, he knows our worth and won’t let us be offended!

Worms They dug underground tunnels and through them got into the neighboring garden.

At first people didn't notice the absence worms, but the flowers in the flowerbed and the vegetables in the beds immediately sensed trouble. Their roots began to suffocate without air, and their stems began to wither without water.

I don’t understand what happened to my garden? – Polya’s grandmother sighed. – The ground has become too hard, all the plants are drying up.

At the end of summer, dad began digging up the garden and was surprised to notice that there was not a single piece of black soil in the clods of black soil. earthworm.

Where have our underground helpers gone? - he thought sadly - Maybe earthworms crawled to the neighbors?

Dad, why did you call worms helpers, are they useful? – Natasha was surprised.

Of course they are useful! Through the dug earthworms air and water enter the roots of flowers and herbs. They make the soil soft and fertile!

Dad went to consult with the gardener Uncle Pasha and brought from him a huge lump of black soil in which they lived earthworms. Vermi and his friends returned to Grandma Paulie's garden and began helping her grow plants. Natasha and Volodya began to treat earthworms carefully and respectfully, and Vermi and his comrades forgot past grievances.

Appendix 2 (presentation)

If you don't know why the earthworm is a ringworms, then in our article you will find answers to your questions.

Why is an earthworm called that?

Annelids- a type of highly organized worms (worms), which includes about 15 thousand species.

So why is an earthworm classified as an annelid? Here is the answer: this type of worm is characterized by bilateral symmetry, their body is divided into separate rings, these are called “segments”. Segments are parts of the body of animals that are located throughout the entire body in a certain order one after another. It is through this that earthworms are called annelids and are classified as annelids.

How is the earthworm adapted to life in the soil? Adaptability is manifested in the fact that worms play a large role in the formation of soil and increasing its fertility. Earthworms improve how chemical composition, so physical properties soil, for example, through their activities they increase aeration (the process of gas exchange between soil and air), improve porosity, water permeability, moisture capacity, and the like. They enrich the lower layer of soil with fertilizer, which is formed in their intestines as a result of digesting food. They ensure soil fertility.

Interesting historical facts about annelids:

1) They were called “sacred” by Queen Cleopatra;

2) Aristotle called them the intestines of the earth”;

3) Charles Darwin believed that they are an integral part of our lives and occupy their due place in world history and the like.