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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]
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]
Earthworms are shifting their ranges northwards into forests between 45° and 69° latitude in North America that have lacked native earthworms since the last ice age. [3] Of the 182 taxa of earthworms found in the United States and Canada, 60 (33%) are introduced species, these earthworm species are primarily from Europe and Asia.
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The European nightcrawler (Dendrobaena hortensis) is a medium-small earthworm averaging about 1.5 g when fully grown. Generally blueish, pink-grey in color with a banded or striped appearance, the tips of their tails are often cream or pale yellow.
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.
Eisenia andrei is a close relative of the 'brandling' or 'tiger' worm Eisenia fetida.Like E. fetida, it is epigeic, i.e. it prefers to live in compost or leaf litter rather than mineral soils.