Vermiculture in Egypt: - FAO - Regional Office for the Near East and

How long will the material ingested by the compost worm be in his gut?
In adult compost worms (Eisenia andrei) appr. 3 to 4 hours, in juvenile worms appr.
11 to 13 hours. The scientists expected the opposite (a longer retention time for adult
worms).
For Eisenia foetida 2.5 h were measured at 25°C, independent from the weight or the
length of the worm. At 18°C the retention time was about 3.5 hours.
Lumbricus terrestris shows a retention time of 20 hours. Other worm species 11 to 13
hours (Lumbricus festivus, Lumbricus rubellus, Allolobophora caliginosa).
How do compost worms multiply?
Like all earthworms, compost worms have female and male gender organs
(hermaphrodite). If they pair off, the genitals come mutually to narrow contact. These
are localized in the wide rings (clitellum) of adult worms. This ring walks in the
course of the next days on and on to the back and is shored up, in the end, so that a
yellowish cocoon originates which has the form a lemon. After a certain time, out of
this small mites are slipping.
How often does a conception take place with the mating of compost worms?
It comes to 61% of the matings to the transfer of sperm. Of it a mutual transfer of
sperm takes place in 88.2% of the cases, in 9.8% the transfer occurred only in one
direction. Merely in one case a self conception occurred.
Is a self-fertilization also possible with compost worms?
Although reported very often with earthworms, a self-sperm transfer could be clearly
documented in 2003 for the first time. This occurs very seldom and was observed with
Eisenia foetida. Self conception is an extreme form of inbreeding. The genetic
diversity is lowered what normally leads to a reduction in fitness of the species. For
this reason mechanisms of self-incompatibility have been developed in many species.
Which compost worm multiplies faster? Eisenia foetida or Eisenia andrei?
Scientific investigations from the year 2003 showed that Eisenia andrei multiplies
much faster under the elective conditions of the study. The percentage of the worms,
that produced cocoons was substantially higher (33% compared with 3.5%). Also the
number of the produced cocoons was higher with Eisenia andrei, likewise the slip rate
of the mites from the cocoons. The life ability of the cocoons was possibly equally
high with both species.
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