Eurpoean Night Crawler in Aus?

[Russell]

I was looking for a bait worms in Australia, and the African night Crawler seems to be it. However, to breed them, I'd need some sort of heating.

I note the ENC is similar to the ANC, but is supposed to be more cold tolerant. I can't however find any sources in Aus. Does anyone know if they are available here? If not, I assume we can't get them into the country due to quarantine laws etc.

Regarding Australian earthworms, I note some references to scrub worms. Anyone know the proper name of these?

Thanks. Russell.

[David Petersen]

Are the Night Crawlers good composting worms and are they avaiable in WA?

[Russell]

There are African night crawlers available most places, but they are tropical worms, needing around 20 - 25 degree temperatures.

They do compost, but not as efficiently as the normal Tiger worms (Eisenia fetida).

[wonder wormz]

G'day Russel & David,

We tried farming African Nightcrawlers (eudrilus eugeniae) down here in the south of Tassie using heated beds but a blown fuse saw the end of that experiment.
Night Crawlers (NC) are compost worms highly prized as fishing worms particularly in the USA. There are better compost worms available able to handle temperature variations such as we find in Australia. These include Eisenia fetida (tiger worms) and Lumbricus rubellus (red wriggler) both originally of European origin. You would find both of these worms from commercial worm growers in WA.

Russel - I am not aware of ENC being grown commercially in Australia and checked my own library but cannot find the scientific name for them. Sorry.

[Russell]

I believe they are Eisenia Hortensis, and also commonly called "Dew Worms". Was hoping to have something good for bait without the required heating, but looks like ANC might be it for us Aussies for now.

Thanks. Russell.

[EcoResearch]

Hi All,

Eisenia hortensis is a small worm reaching about 2-3cm length at maturity. Maybe not the best for fishing! Probably the easiest way to identify it is to look at it's rear end... there will usually be a yellow dot on the end of the tail. Combined with the fact that the clitellum is present at such a small size should assist identification, though look out for confusion with Microscolex phosphoreus which is similar size but the clitellum is less like a saddle and more like a complete collar. It will tend to be associated with organic residues. For example, the only two times I've seen it in SA have been in an almond orchard underneath a big pile of cracked almond shells that had been there for years, and in a vineyard where a load of chicken manure had been spread a few weeks previously. The latter sighting made the local paper... The Winton Worm! Perhaps not suprisingly it is a relative of Eisenia fetida - the common composting species usually known as the tiger worm. It is an introduced species in Australia.

The Nightcrawler - Lumbricus terrestris - has been reported in Australia. It's occurrence was discovered and reported by Dr Rob Blakemore who is one of the world's leading earthworm taxonomists. Unfortunately, earthworm taxonomists are a rare breed. We need them as we're all a bit slack with earthworm identification and nomenclature. We've been very lucky to have Rob, a native of England, based in Australia for much of his career. He achieved his doctorate at a Queensland Uni - I think I have a copy of his thesis if any one is interested in some fairly heavy reading on the native earthworm species of a region in Queensland! Anyhow... terrestris occurs in a limited habitat in Australia - it's location is kept quiet as this introduced species is considered a pest in many parts of the world and its further distribution within Australia is to be discouraged.

When I was in Michigan for 'Vermillenium' in 2000, I saw these worms almost completely covering a short section of the road one evening after rain. They are large... bigger than what you'd see in Australia without digging a fair hole. Americans go to great lengths and poison their lawns to get rid of this very, very active species... golf course superintendents shudder at the thought of them. On the plus side, they're quite endearing in that they establish a single burrow to live in and with a torch covered in red cellophane, they can be observed in the lawn at night time half emerging from their burrows and feeling around for some leaves and things to drag back into their burrow and bury to accelerate the decomposition process. The late Mary Appelhof's video 'Worms Eat My Garbage' has some great footage of terristris at work.

Is anyone culturing Lumbricus rubellus? We weren't particularly successful in culturing it when I was at CSIRO, but then again, it wasn't the highest priority in the workload. It seems that it requires high organic matter levels, but also soil contact to thrive. It would probably be a good alternative to terrestris as is it reasonably large and doesn't have the 'gunk' factor that the Eisenia species have. It occurs in the field in high rainfall areas and I've seen it in the Adelaide Hills SA, the South East region of SA, and the South West of Victoria. It's not such a problem in terms of biosecurity so attempts to propagate it in worm farms wouldn't be sinful. The trick would be achieving the right mix of temperature (probably a cool temperate species), high moisture, plenty of organic matter and the right proportion and type of soil.

I have quite a few 'Earthworm Identifier' booklets release by CSIRO during the 'Earthworms DownUnder' project back in the '90's that can assist the identification of many commonly occuring introduced species. Might cost you a stamped self addressed envelope though .

I just love worms. I could go on and on and on........... and on....

Cheers All,
Katie.

[George]

Hi Katie,

I am no expert at identifying worms, but I have done a lot of basic work in trying to identify suitable species for fishing in Australia.

The descriptions you have posted for Eisenia Hortensis and Lumbricus Rubellus appear to be the wrong way around.

Eisenia Hortensis, common name European Nightcrawler, is actually quite a large worm, much larger than "2-3cm long". From many descriptions in both the US and Europe, it is this worm that prefers the wetter bedding conditions and high organic matter.

We have been trying to locate live samples of this species within Australia for a few years with no success. If you can locate some true Eisenia Hortensis, I would be very very interested in them.

I would also be very interested in the "Earthworm Identifier" booklets that you mention. Please let me know where to send the self addressed envelope, or we do have a reply paid number.

Regards,
George

[EcoResearch]

Hi George,

I reckon you may be right - the two times I've seen live E. hortensis they've always been small worms, as I described about 2-3cm long and mature. But that's not to say they can't get much bigger - Microscolex dubius is often found in the topsoil as a small worm about 3-5cm long at maturity, but in a pile of manure, whoaaa - I've seen them as thick as my little finger and about 12cm long. So it's possible that in cultured conditions, E. hortensis can grow much larger than in the rather dry, tough conditions I've seen them in the field - a quick check of the web seems to confirm this. I'll stand by my roughie description of L. terrestris though - that's a big worm!

Unfortunately, I don't know of anyone specifically culturing E. hortensis. And of the two places I've seen it - one no longer exists, and the other was in a vineyard where chicken manure had been applied, and the worms looked pretty unhappy about being moved from a pile of manure into a sandy vineyard. Perhaps you may be able to locate some specimens at a commercial poultry farm? Personally, I don't spend much time poking around the manure heaps at chicken farms these days , so can't help with a specimen!

Good Luck, Katie.