Snails

• Snails eat living plant material
• When threatened, a snail can pull its body under its shell
• Snails move very slowly (about 1mm per second) and leave a trail of mucus (slime) to help smooth out the way

Woodlice

• Woodlice are scavengers - they feed on dead or dying plant material and on their own droppings
• They prefer damp places, such as under logs, because they breathe through gills (like fish) rather than through lungs (like humans)

Earwigs

• Earwigs are insects (they have six legs) and they feed mainly on plant material
• Earwigs are nocturnal, and rest in shady crevices during the day
• The pincers are used for many things such as climbing

Millipedes

• Millipedes have 80-400 legs each
• They feed on dead plant material like fallen leaves
• Their habitat is in leaf litter or in the soil
• When threatened, they curl up into a tight coil

Ground beetles

• Ground beetles are insects (they have six legs)
• Many types of ground beetles are predators, and feed by cacthing smaller animals

Beetle larvae

• A beetle larva is the young form of an adult beetle, like the ground beetle above (the life-cycle is egg - larva - pupa - adult)
• The plural of larva is larvae (not larvas)
• Beetle larvae have biting jaws and two tails

Wolf spiders

• Spiders are arachnids (they have 8 legs), not insects
• Some spiders spin webs to catch their prey, but the wolf spider runs fast over the ground after its prey instead
• Wolf spiders have excellent eyesight and can hunt both at day and at night

You may have seen me before, but how much do you know about me?
Thousands of us live beneath your feet but you don't even notice us.

I don't mean to brag, but in the soil world we are superheroes. Why not take a closer look...?

Lob worm

• A large fat red earthworm, always over 8cm long even when not moving.
• Found in gardens and other grassy places all over Britain
• Builds deep burrows, sometimes as deep as 3 metres in the soil.

Black-headed worm

• A large thin red earthworm.
• It has a dark head and often a paler tail
• Builds permanent vertical burrows up to 60cm deep in the soil

Blue-grey worm

• A pale earthworm
• Often has a yellow tail
• Lives just below the soil surface

Compost worm

• A stripy earthworm - longer and fatter than the brandling worm
• Usually found in garden compost, leaf litter and manure heaps
• Eats dead leaves, stems and other plant materials

Brandling worm

• A stripy earthworm - shorter and thinner than the compost worm
• Usually found in garden compost, leaf litter and manure heaps
• Eats dead leaves, stems and other plant materials

Chestnut worm

• A red earthworm
• Common and widespread
• Lives in leaf litter and can be found in manure and under logs

Green worm

• A green earthworm
• Very common and widespread
• Lives in the topsoil, often among plant roots

Grey worm

• A pale earthworm
• Very common and widespread, living in the topsoil but rarely in leaf litter
• The head end has a special colour pattern: pink-whitish-dark grey-orange

Redhead worm

• A red earthworm
• Widespread species, living in the topsoil and leaf litter
• Sometimes flattens its tail into a 'paddle' to help it burrow through the soil (lob worms can also do this)

Rosy-tipped worm

• A pale earthworm
• Widespread, living in the topsoil and eats soil
• The first 10 or 15 segments are rosy pink or pale pink in colour