So this is how we get our name ‘homo sapiens’.Įisenia feotidas and Eisenia andrei are very similar being in the same genus but are yet of a different species. For humans, we are in genus ‘homo’ which stands for most of our ancestors which stands on two legs, and we are of the ‘sapiens’ species. The first one is the ‘genus’ (plural is genera) the second is the ‘species’. The name of each organism consists of two words used for classification. We are classed as ‘chordate’ because of our backbone, while worms are classed as Annelids because of their lack of bone, segmented bodies and a variety of other things. Our roads diverge in a different phylum classification. Humans and worms are both in the Kingdom ‘Animalia’ as we are both classed as animals. Many of you will have heard the scientific names but how does the naming work?Įvery known organism is placed in a category in the following order: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species. To clearly distinguish worm species, scientific names are used. Some others work differently and are suited to different temperatures such as the Perionyx excavatus (the blue worm). One example of this is Eisenia feotidas and Eisenia andrei (known as red wigglers or red worms). However the good news is the similar looking ones, although different in species, may also work in very similar ways. The problem is that you don’t even know if the species you bought are any different because they look so similar. Very often the same names are used over a variety of different worms. Most people distinguish different worms using generic names such as ‘red wigglers’ or ‘night crawlers’.īut what you must know is that these names are not very accurate.

I think it starts us off really well to get back to the fundamentals of worm composting which is knowing your worm! What I would like to know is which ones do you think make vermi compost faster. So you have to be very careful in taking off the vermicompost. They come to the top of the box feed and leave their vermicompost there and then go down to the bottom again. Their feeding habbits are very different from the “Red Wiggler”.

I have just been given a whole lot of “Blue Worms”, they are very large and have this amazing blue stripe down their backs that shines in the sun. “Firstly, thanks for the always very interesting worm farming newsletters.

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