Red Wigglers ï¿½ Size & Color vs. Media

12 years ago

When I first collected my red wigglers from a neighbor's leaf compost bin they were less than two inches long and a dark red color. Today the mature worms are typically twice that size, and more of a pinkish cream color, especially in the outdoor manure compost bins, where I have seen some nearly three times the size of the original strain.

When I till the garden in the spring, the holes where I deposited worms from my compost bins have some of these worms which survived our harsh winter and they have reverted back to the dark red color and smaller size.

And, occasionally I find some in the bins which are a light pink color which my fish love.

Since there are no indigenous worms in my garden, I am certain all these worms are from the same original strain.

I have always been curious about this phenomenon, but have never seen anything written on the subject.

Have any of you noticed a change in color or size from your original strain, and what is your take on this?

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Comments (3)

PeterK2
12 years ago
The fattest one's I've found (and almost always on the pale pink side) are in the middle of some just finished food area, which makes sense I guess heh.

Any worms I've found in the older VC which has less food and moisture can be long, sometimes very long, but always much slimmer and darker red.
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equinoxequinox
12 years ago
Ok. Remember for all I know I am raising baby snakes in Southern New England.

I think I do not have earthworms because those are longer and fatter and are found when I spade the earth. They also appear dryer.

I think I do not have nightcrawlers because those are huge, and scary and lay upon the surface at night and need to be caught by flashlight.

I think I do have some type of redwiggler because I got them from a compost heap. The compost heap may of been seeded with a tiny amount of dying worms from a library vermicompost workship for school children. They seemed to exhibit yellow tail tips.

Some live inside two 4 gallon skimpy bottom pails. At some point I crushed up a bunch of biochar as much as I could without risk of breathing any dust. This was put into the bin. It was fun to do. I hoped the biochar would get dirty or charged with organic life. It should also provide surface area for weebeasties to multiply to feed the worms.

The worms did seem to take on a color change, primarily a black line down the middle. Presumabley this was the food pathway. It was not clear. Strangely, even though the biochar has all passed through the system one would think a generation of worms ago the worms still seem to retain this darkness. The biochar and the darkness line, not a deeper red, seemed to match just when the biochar was added.

Additionaly, your mention of worm sizes and changes in relation to the enviornment reminds me of some old online information or maybe misinformation. The story went something like a college student in a dorm room grew worms but because he raised them in such a confined? space they remained small. Whenever he needed to fill an order to sell he gave the needed miniture sized worms more food and space and he quickly could fill the orders he had. Reading the days worth of material about this on the web could no doubt lead one to insanity. To save time I described it just above. I think what you are acurately describing happening in your bins is similar to what the college student had also observed and had as his "business plan". I'm just going for the "big, fat, juicy ones" and trying to avoid the long, skinny ones that sometimes fall apart when picked up. I'm guessing you do too.
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To give up defeats the whole purpose of vermecomposting. The worm industry has chosen for the gain of money to sell Eisenia foetida, and "European Night crawlers. Very few if any sell a native worm to the area. To be Green is to change,not to give up.Below is part of a study, WORM COMPANY'S WAKE UP!!!!!!!. Eisenia foetida, or"European Night crawlers."are non native worms,This is why we with any non-native species, it is important not to allow them to reach the wild. Their voracious appetites and reproductive rates (especially among the red wigglers) have been known to upset the delicate balance of the hardwood forests by consuming the leaf litter too quickly. This event leaves too little leaf letter to slowly incubate the hard shelled nuts and leads to excessive erosion as well as negatively affecting the pH of the soil. So, do your best to keep them confined! Eisenia foetida From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Eisenia fetida, known under various common names, including redworms, brandling worms, tiger worms and red wiggler worms, are a species of earthworm adapted to decaying organic material. They thrive in rotting vegetation, compost, and manure; they are epigeal. They are rarely found in soil, instead like Lumbricus rubellus they prefer conditions where other worms cannot survive. They are used for vermicomposting. They are native to Europe, but have been introduced (both intentionally and unintentionally) to every other continent except Antarctica, occasionally threatening native species. Established ecosystems have developed their own natural balance and controls over time, and the plants and animals within those systems find this balance suitable for survival, or they have been able to adapt in order to survive within those conditions. When non-native species from other ecosystems are introduced, they can upset that balance and bring harm to the established plants and animals, and the whole ecosystem. Non-native species come from somewhere else and they are not natural to the ecosystem they have been introduced to. They may be harmless and beneficial in their natural surroundings, but they can totally devastate different environments. When alien species enter into an ecosystem, they can disrupt the natural balance, reduce biodiversity, degrade habitats, alter native genetic diversity, transmit exotic diseases to native species, and further jeopardize endangered plants and animals. When there are no established natural controls, such as predators to keep the non-native harmful species in check, there can be a population explosion of the invasive non-native species causing an ecological catastrophe. http://www.eco-pros.com/invasive_non-native_species.htm Here is a link that might be useful: INVASIVE NON-NATIVE SPECIES
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equinoxequinox
12 years ago
"When I first collected my red wigglers from a neighbor's leaf compost bin they were less than two inches long and a dark red color. Today the mature worms are typically twice that size, and more of a pinkish cream color, especially in the outdoor manure compost bins, where I have seen some nearly three times the size of the original strain." It is like the pink ones are living in nirvana or worm heaven. They have the perfect food and enviornment and have no need to toughen up and forage in the dark forest. They are sheltered, fast growing, the 1920's flappers of their day, no hardtimes. As opposed to us old, wrinkled travelers.

Red Wigglers ï¿½ Size & Color vs. Media

Comments (3)

PeterK2

equinoxequinox

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