Thanks for the advice regarding worm behavior and bin setup. I just wanted to report that my worms seem happy and healthy. I backed off on feeding for a bit - the gnats have died down down dramatically. I put a layer of moistened cardboard on top of the the worm bedding - the worms now seem to be all through the layers of bedding below the cardboard. I added a bit of moisture to the whole thing - I think the top layer was too dry.

Now when I check on the worms only maybe 10 are near the top, and oddly enough most congregate in one particular corner.

I just put in some scraps, the first refeed since I got the worms a week and a half ago - just some scraps of carrots from the garden and a cucumber peel and seeds. We'll see how they like it :)

Thanks again for the help!

Jen