Earthworm
An earthworm makes tunnels in the ground by eating through the dirt.
It feeds on bits of plants and leaves in the dirt.
Alfalfa Butterfly
A butterfly’s proboscis is like a curled tube. It uncurls its
proboscis and sucks juice from flowers when it is hungry.
Animals eat
If it eats, it’s an animal. And there are almost as many ways of eating
as there are kinds of animals.
An earthworm eats its way through the ground. It feeds on bits of
rotting plants.
A sponge takes in tiny plants and animals from the water that flows
through it.
A chameleon shoots out its sticky tongue and catches insects.
A butterfly has a long, hollow strawlike mouthpart called a proboscis
(proh [bah]{.smallcaps} sihs). The butterfly keeps its proboscis rolled
up. When the butterfly gets hungry, it unrolls its proboscis. It puts
its proboscis into a flower and sucks up nectar.
A ground squirrel has strong teeth for cracking nuts and seeds. It
carries food to its home in pockets in its cheeks.
A baleen whale takes a mouthful of seawater with tiny plants and animals
in it. It lets the water run out of its mouth. Then it swallows the
plants and animals.
Plants make their food from light and water and things in the ground and
air. But animals must eat to live.
Many little tunnels in a sponge’s body let in seawater. In the water are
tiny plants and animals the sponge eats.
Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel
The ground squirrel’s cheeks are full of nuts and seeds to carry home.
It cracks the shells with its strong teeth.
