Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Eisenia fetida, known under various common names such as manure worm, [2] redworm, brandling worm, panfish worm, trout worm, tiger worm, red wiggler worm, etc., is a species of earthworm adapted to decaying organic material. These worms thrive in rotting vegetation, compost, and manure. They are epigean, rarely found in soil.
One common way this species spreads is through the release of bait worms into the habitat. It is a "nightcrawler", an earthworm used as fishing bait, and one of several species sold in American bait shops as "red wigglers". [3] It can often be found in shipments of worms labelled as another species, such as Lumbricus terrestris or L. rubellus. [10]
Vermicomposting uses worms to decompose waste and make nutrient-rich "worm manure". Vermicompost (vermi-compost) is the product of the decomposition process using various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms, to create a mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast.
Various species of worms are used in vermiculture, the practice of feeding organic waste to earthworms to decompose food waste. These are usually Eisenia fetida (or its close relative Eisenia andrei) or the brandling worm, commonly known as the tiger worm or red wiggler. They are distinct from soil-dwelling earthworms.
The worms require loose soil to burrow in and soil moist enough for gas exchange. [3] Further requirements include such abiotic factors as pH and temperature. Various abiotic factors are significant to Lumbricus rubellus. pH is of particular importance; a range of 5.5 to 8.7 is acceptable with a preference for neutral soils. [4]
D. hortensis is sold primarily as a bait worm, but its popularity as a composting worm is increasing. [2] It was considered part of Eisenia until 2003. [3] It is also formerly considered part of the similar Dendrobaena veneta, [1] but now just part of the species complex. Both are useful compost worms. [4]
Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up & Maintain a Worm Composting System is a book by Mary Appelhof self-published in 1982 under the company name Flower Press. The book is still held as seminal reading in the field of vermicomposting .
Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri is conveyor-belt feeder that ingests particles in deep sediments and egests them on the sediment surface in the form of pseudofeces. [5] [6] The activities of this worm can alter sediment stratification, [6] [7] [8] increase the water content and porosity of sediment, [9] change the distribution of sediment particle size, [6] [10] alter the oxygen and nutrient dynamics ...