Old SAREP Website

Miss the old site?

SAREP’s old Web site will be available here until July 1. Thank you for your patience during this time of transition.

Red Marsh Worm, Red Wriggler

Lumbricus rubellus Hoffmeister, 1843 (Lumbricidae)

 

  • 60-150 x 4-6 mm
  • Dorsum is red-brown or red-violet and iridescent
  • Ventral surface is pale
  • Epigeic habit; mating and casting below ground, commonly burrows into mineral soil
  • Obligate sexual reproduction
  • Mature in 179 days; longevity 682-719 days
  • 79-106 cocoons per year per worm
  • Diapause spent in a ball 0.45 m deep in soil
LumbricusR1.JPG LumbricusR2.JPG

Red wriggler or red marsh worm (Lumbricus rubellus) is an epigeic detritivorous earthworm that is common in apple orchards with permanent cover crops. Photographs by Suzanne Paisley.