Information on Red Wigglers
"Red wiggler" is one of many common names for the Eisenia fedita, a composter earthworm that lives in the upper layers of soil. Also known as red worms, brandling worms, manure worms, and even tiger worms, they can live up to four and a half years. Red wigglers are the most commonly-used earthworm for composting, but are also favored by fishermen and are even used to supplement the seed-based diets of pet birds, according to Wormpost Northeast.
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Reproduction
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The thick band is the clitellum Compost-ology notes that while red wigglers are hermaphroditic (having both male and female sex organs), they are not parthenogenic (i.e., they need cross-fertilization to mate). A mature worm has a gland called a clitellum that appears as a thick band about one-third of the way down its body. This produces the mucus needed to create a cocoon. When mating, two worms join at the clitellum, exchanging seminal fluid, eggs and amniotic fluid, and generating a ring of mucus around each worm. Upon separation, the ring slides off over the worms' heads, creating a cocoon.
Development
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Mary Appelhof's book, "Worms Eat My Garbage," describes the red wiggler cocoon as lemon-shaped and about the size of a match head. Initially white in color, it turns yellow, light brown, and finally red when the hatchlings are ready to emerge. According to Compost-ology, gestation takes about 11 weeks and, although each cocoon contains between two and 20 hatchlings, typically only about three will be born as "tiny white threadlike creatures." Under ideal conditions, these hatchlings will be sexually mature in 53 to 75 days.
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Ideal Conditions
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The natural habitats of the red wigglers include manure, compost piles, and decaying leaves. Although they can survive a wide range of temperatures, Rhonda Sherman of North Carolina State University recommends temperatures between 59 and 77 degrees F with 80 percent moisture in a worm bin. The worms need oxygen and plenty of food since they can consume 50 to 100 percent of their body weight daily. If conditions are not ideal, the worms will slow or cease reproduction, and existing cocoons can lie dormant until conditions improve. In fact, according to Compost-ology, cocoons have survived up to three years in excessively dry conditions without harmful effects.
Fishing
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Red wigglers are used as bait Red wigglers can tolerate temperatures from 40 to 90 degrees F, according to Wormpost. Although they are thinner and shorter than most popular fishing worms, they are still attractive to anglers because of their ability to survive longer than other species at cold temperatures . Their fierce wriggling on a hook attracts fish.
Vermicomposting
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Worldwide, red wigglers are the preferred choice for vermicomposting. Bioweb explains that vermicomposting uses worms to aid in the conversion of organic waste into fertilizer. The red wigglers feed on organic waste, absorb the nutrients they require for survival, and excrete the rest as castings (worm droppings) that can be used as fertilizer. The fertilizer "enhances soil [...] helps plants grow bigger, increases crop yields, and decreases plant diseases and pest attacks," according to Sherman. The process of vermicomposting also combats the high levels of methane (a greenhouse gas) released by organic waste in U.S. landfills.
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References
- Worms Eat My Garbage; Mary Appelhof; 2nd Edition; 1997
- Wormpost Northeast: Worm Biology
- Compost-ology: The Science of Composting and Vermicomposting
- Vermicomposting; Rhonda Sherman, NC State University
- Bioweb: Eisenia fetida "Can't we all just get along?"
Resources
- Photo Credit worm image by Ksenija Djurica from Fotolia.com worm on hook image by mashe from Fotolia.com
