Nature’s calling: Velvet worm

I think I have found my new favourite little creature.

I have known of the existence of velvet worms for some time, but because of their small size and rather drab appearance, I have not bothered about them, not even to photograph one.

The other day while out in my garden looking for snakes and legless lizards under rocks, I came across a velvet worm. So, I thought I would try getting pictures of one and doing a bit of research, and boy, are they interesting little creatures.

They grow to around two inches long and some species can live in family groups of up to 15 individuals. They also have a type of hierarchy, similar to that of the Hyena, where the females are dominant and eat first after a kill.

Velvet worms are predatory worms hunting individually or in a family group, feeding on any small insect they can overpower.

The most unique thing about them is the way in which they catch their prey. They squirt a slimy glue like liquid from special glands. The openings of the glands that produce the slime are in the papillae, a pair of highly modified limbs on the sides of the head below the antennae.

They are able to squirt the slime at a speed of up to five meters per second, however, they cannot shoot it very far, only reaching a maximum distance of around 10cm. The slime does not contain any poison. This glue like slime is also shot out in self-defence if the worm feels threatened.

These worms are active and hunt at night, quietly sneaking up on unsuspecting prey. After getting the prey stuck in their glue, a soft part of the prey item (usually a joint membrane in arthropod prey) is identified, punctured with a bite from the jaws and injected with saliva.

This kills the prey very quickly and begins a slower process of digestion. The prey is then sucked out its shell. The feeding process can often take hours.

They usually also consume the slime that they used to catch their prey. The slime is often kept to be reused, as their slime production is very slow.

If they have to use their slime in self-defence and are unable to consume said slime, it can take up to two weeks before they can build up enough reserves to be able to hunt again.

These little worms are literally prehistoric, they were around since dinosaurs wandered the earth as fossil remains of them have been found that are identical to the ones we have now.

If you would like to contact Warren to have some of your interesting insects, snakes or other wildlife identified, send him a WhatsApp message or call him on 072-211-0353.

Visit his Facebook page called, Warren’s Small World.