Posts Tagged ‘cocoons’

Here are some images I would like to share of cocoons, baby worms and pot worms. Pot Worms, also known as white worms, and are similiar in size to baby red worms.  Pot worms are just one of many small creatures that are commonly found in worm bins.  The presence of pot worms may indicate that the PH of your bin is decreasing and becoming acidic. You may also spot them if you have added any acidic foods to your worm bin.   If you have an abundance of these worms in your bin it could also be an indication that your worms are being overfeed.  Overfeeding results in acidic conditions in a worm bin.  Pot worms are NOT harmful to your red worms in any way although they may compete with your worms for food.  Baby red worms are distinquished by red blood vessels visible in their squirmy little  bodies.  Here are a few images of both types of worms to help you determine if what you may be seeing in the bin are pot worms or babies.

Pot Worm (White Worm) vs Baby European Nightcrawler

White Worms (Pot Worms) VS Red Worms

Here are some close up images of European Nightcrawler Cocoons.  One cocoon can hatch between 2 and 20 worms (the average being 2-4 worms)  The older a worm is when it produces a cocoon, the higher the chance of hatching more babies per egg case.  When a cocoon is first produced it is a pale yellow almost transulant color.  As it begins to age and the worms get closer to hatching, the cocoon darkens to a brown color.   Newer cocoons are easier to spot in a heap of castings than the mature ones.  These next images are of European Nightcrawler cocoons at different stages.

European Nightcrawler Cocoons Close-Up

Stages of Red Worm Cocoons - European Nightcrawlers

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African Nightcrawler Cocoons are now available.  These little gems can ship all year long and are a great economical way to get your worm herd starded!   African Nightcrawlers are great composters and bait worms.  They consume organic material quicker than the average red worms.

Under the right conditions, the hatch rate on 800 cocoons is 80%.   These cocoons can hatch over 2,000 African Nightcrawlers for a fraction of the price of purchasing the worms.   If you have questions about raising African Nightcrawlers feel free to contact us.  You can find them here in our shopping cart.

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