Wildlife
Earthworms are the world's unsung heros. They loosen and mix up the soil, break down and recycle decaying plant matter and fertilise the soil by bringing nutrients closer to the surface. Birds often rely upon worms as a primary source of food. Because earthworms breathe through their skin, they have to come to the surface when it rains or risk drowning. Famously hermaphroditic, earthworms are both male and female in one body, though it still takes two worms to reproduce. Earthworms range in length from a tiny one millimetre to a massive three metres.
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The amazing world of earthworms in the UK
Emma Sherlock explains why the planet’s recyclers are important.
Emma Sherlock, the curator of free-living worms at the Natural History Museum London, introduces us to the recyclers of the planet, the earthworms, and explains why they’re important.
Worm charming
Blackbirds use vibration to attract worms to the surface.
Blackbirds use vibration to attract worms to the surface.
Snake-sized worm
Steve Backshall comes across the biggest earthworm he's ever seen.
Steve Backshall comes across the biggest earthworm he's ever seen.
Mating earthworms
Infra-red filming sheds light on earthworms as they get together to mate.
Infra-red filming sheds light on earthworms as they get together to mate.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
The Lumbricidae are a family of earthworms which includes most of the earthworm species well-known to Europeans. About 33 lumbricid species have become naturalized around the world, but the bulk of the species are in the Holarctic region: from Canada (e.g. Bimastos lawrenceae on Vancouver Island) and the United States (e.g. Eisenoides carolinensis, Eisenoides lonnbergi and most Bimastos spp.) and throughout Eurasia to Japan (e.g. Eisenia japonica, E. koreana and Helodrilus hachiojii). An enigmatic species in Tasmania is Eophila eti. Currently, 670 valid species and subspecies in about 42 genera are recognized.
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Take a trip through the natural world with our themed collections of video clips from the natural history archive.
Garden wildlife
From badgers to butterflies and frogs to foxes, garden wildlife is both varied and surprising.
Wild autumn
Autumn - a time of great change, of breathtaking migrations, of high drama.
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Helpless young
Detritus recycler
Burrower
Tactile sense
Herbivorous
Hermaphroditic