Wonders of the Red Wiggler

Worms come in four main tribes with exotic-sounding scientific names:
You’ve got the flatworms, or Platyhelminthes.

You’ve got your ribbon worms, or Nemertea.

Then there’s the roundworms, or Nematoda.

And finally, the segmented worms, or Annelida.

But squirming its way above them all to be first in line for homes in our vermicompost bins is the Annelida known as the Eisenia foetida, commonly known as Super Composting Red Wiggler, brandling worm, composting worm, or manure worm (obviously, not picky eaters).
 
I chose the trusty Red Wigglers to be my Super Composting sidekicks because they:

Are the hardiest worms, able to withstand powerful natural forces, such as seasonal temperature changes

Have an insatiable appetite for food we humans typically call garbage — they’re capable of consuming their own weight each day in raw organic matter

And they posses an amazing reproductive capacity – these worms love to make baby worms, who join in the fight to reduce waste and create good earth. Feed them something sweet like pumpkin or watermelon, and they reproduce faster, because they just need to rub up against each other.

Yep, these low-maintenance Super Composters are the perfect sidekicks.