Frequently Asked Questions About Earthworms |
FAQ Menu URL: http://res.agr.ca/lond/pmrc/faq/menu.html
Pictures of Various Worms Species and cocoons
Why are there no native Canadian earthworms?
Should you try and raise earthworms for the fish bait market?
Should I let earthworm pickers on to my farm to harvest dew worms?
How much should I charge earthworm pickers to harvest earthworms from my farm?
What is the effect of conservation or no-till on earthworm populations and other soil organisms?
Will seagulls following the plow destroy earthworm populations in my fields?
Do earthworms come to the surface after heavy rains to avoid drowning?
Technical Questions ?? - Earthworm BBS.
How do earthworms affect transport of nutrient and toxics in soil? Try a working model of earthworms in food chains.
Reference Articles for Earthworm Harvesters Growers, & Gardeners
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Four adult worms representing the more commonly found species in Ontario (20 species total). Size differences reflect differences among species. |
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Dendrobaena rubidus cocoons (relative to a pin head). |
Q. Why are there no native Canadian earthworms?
A. Because glacial sheets that covered nearly all of Canada until about 15,000 years ago wiped out any native North American species that may have lived here.
Q. Should you try and raise earthworms for the fish bait market?
A. The short answer is "no", but e-mail tomlina@em.agr.ca to request package explaining how bait market works.
Q. Should I let earthworm pickers on to my farm to harvest dew worms?
A. You can, and it can be quite profitable for you if you rent out the picking rights. If you are concerned about sustaining the earthworm populations in your field, you could specify the number of nights that can be used by pickers, limit the number of pickers, or have pickers on your land every other year to conserve the worms.
Q. How much should I charge earthworm pickers to harvest earthworms from my farm?
A. That depends on how good your soils are for worms, but a good one-acre field could easily provide 300,000 worms annually which would ultimately retail in the US for $0.20 Canadian each (that's $60,000). I would think that the source farmer should try and obtain about $500 fo r that.
Q. What is the effect of conservation or no-till on earthworm populations and other soil organisms?
A. They generally increase under conservation or no-till....usually dramatically.
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Till = Conventional tillage No-Till = No-Tillage |
Q. Will seagulls following the plow destroy earthworm populations in my fields?
A. No. Seagull feeding is normally responsible for far less earthworm mortality than plowing itself.
Q. Do earthworms come to the surface after heavy rains to avoid drowning?
A. No. Earthworms can survive for several weeks under water.
If you have technical questions related to earthworms, you can submit those questions here to theEarthworm Bulletin Board Service which is monitored by more than 40 earthworm specialists from around the world. STRONG>
Try a Dynamic Earthworm Transport Model using STELLA modelling techniques! |
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This is an Earthworm transport model for soil ecosystems. In order to use this model, you must do the following:
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