Velvet worm

Meet the velvet worm, one of the softest, gentlest little creatures on the forest floor. This one lives in the cool, damp woods of New Zealand, where its Māori name is ngāokeoke. Its skin is smooth and velvety to touch, it is a lovely smoky-blue colour, and it walks along on rows of short, stubby legs — fifteen pairs of them!

A velvet worm is a slow, careful mover. It creeps quietly through damp leaves and under rotting logs, feeling the way ahead with two soft, wiggly feelers on its head. It comes out mostly at night, when the air is cool and moist. It has to stay damp, because its velvety skin can dry out if the day gets too warm and sunny.

The velvet worm has a very clever trick for catching its dinner. From two tiny nozzles beside its mouth, it can squirt out streams of sticky slime. The slime gently tangles up the little bugs it likes to eat, like a soft, harmless net. Then the velvet worm strolls over for a quiet meal, and the slime is not dangerous to people at all.

This little animal is also a wonderful parent in its own way. Instead of laying eggs, the New Zealand velvet worm gives birth to tiny, live baby worms that look just like miniature versions of their mother. A mother can have around ten to twenty babies in a year, and velvet worms may live for about five years.

Velvet worms are a very ancient kind of animal — creatures much like them were creeping about hundreds of millions of years ago, long before the dinosaurs. In New Zealand they are counted as Not Threatened, which means there are still plenty of them. Keeping their damp forests and old fallen logs safe helps these soft, slime-squirting little wonders thrive.