Facts About the Red Worm
Red worms are a common worm type often used as fishing bait or to help break down organic materials in compost piles. Red worms are hardy and easy to raise, so they are often raised on worm farms so that they can be sold in large quantities to fishermen and to those who want to hurry the decomposition of compost materials.
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Function
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Red worms are important to the soil because of the way they consume just about any organic materials and turn those materials into smaller particles that are full of nutrients. This is a natural way of fertilizing the soil. The worm breaks down the materials and adds nutrients during the digestion process. The worm then passes worm casings. These are the smaller, digested pieces of organic materials.
Features
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The red worm is a deep pink to light red in color and grows to as long as 8 inches in length. They are tolerant of heat and cold, but the ideal climate is temperatures from 55 to 77 degrees F. Healthy red worms will lay an egg every week. Each of these eggs will produce three or four young red worms. The baby worms are lighter in color; they are initially very light pink and gradually get their darker color.
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Types
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Red worms are often used for fishing bait for many reasons. Among them is the idea that the yellow substance that comes out of the worm when a hook is placed through it is an attractant for fish. Red worms that are used for fishing should be a larger size than the young worms used for composting. Bait-sized red worms are full-grown worms that are large enough to attract the attention of fish.
Identification
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Red worms are hermaphroditic, but they do require other red worms for mating. To breed red worms, make sure the worms are mature enough for breeding. Mature worms will have a band around the middle that is visibly swollen. Many worms should be kept together to allow the worms to select their mates. Breeding red worms will secrete a material that creates a cocoon for the eggs.
Considerations
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Red worms must be fed plenty of organic materials to keep them healthy and breeding. In addition to leaves, compost materials and manure, red worms will also eat newspaper and cardboard. To raise red worms, you will need to provide 1/2 pound of organic materials to eat for every 1 pound of red worms.
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