Can Worms See?

No, red worms do not have eyes. They are very sensitive to bright light. They will try to hide as soon as exposed.

Where is the mouth?

The worms mouth is in the first anterior segment.

There is a small protruding lip just over the mouth, called prostomium. When the worm is foraging, this lip is stretching out. The prostomium is for sensing food.

Do they have teeth?

Red Worms have no teeth for chewing food. They grind food in their gizzard by muscle action.

How do they grind food?

Red Worms can only take small particles in their small mouths. Microorganisms soften the food before worms will eat it. Compost Worms have a muscular gizzard. Small parts of food mixed with some grinding material such as sand, topsoil or limestone is ingested. The contractions from the muscles in the gizzard compress those particles against each other, mix it with fluid, and grind it to smaller pieces.

If a worm is cut in two, will it grow back?

It depends on where the cut took place. If a worm is cut at the posterior end, sometimes a new tail will grow back on. Sometimes a second tail will appear next to a damaged tail. However, the posterior half of the worm can not grow a new anterior (head.)
What Are The Other Critters In My Composting Worm Bin?

What Are The Other Critters In My Worm Bin?

Once your composting worm bin has been going for a while, you may notice other creatures like white worms, springtails, and millipedes living in your bin. This is normal, these creatures will not hurt your worms. In fact, they help the composting process. The only bugs that may be present that pose a threat to worms are centipedes. You can tell centipedes and millipedes apart by looking at how their legs are attached to their bodies. Centipedes have only one pair of legs per segment, millipedes have two pairs.