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teenee65

baby worms

teenee65
18 years ago

Do they start out short and chubby? I found some of them in the food scraps today and was wondering what they look like? Also, would anyone know where I could see a picture of a cocoon?

:)

Tina

Comments (11)

  • billr12
    18 years ago

    Baby redworms esentially look exactly like the adults excepty no clitium. The color of baby redworms however is just lightly pinkish to almost clear. If it is chubby it probably isn't a baby redworm. You can do a search on this site or on the internet and see examples of cocoons. They generally are like a small grain of rice, well visible to the eye with light color. They are slightly oblong approaching round. As they approach hatching the cocoons generally turn dark.

  • chuckiebtoo
    18 years ago

    Those are probably larva of some sort. Baby worms are of the same proportion as adults, white to transparent, and you can see their skeletal structure depending on the transparency. The cocoons I've encountered are of a brownish-goldish hue and look like...well, a teeny, tiny brownish-goldish eggs. They can get darker.

    If you look close enough, you will eventually find a hatched egg...shell? which will make you feel proud, for some damn reason.

    Chuckiebtoo

  • sqh1
    18 years ago

    tina.. Here is a site with some of the best pictures of cocoons I have seen. Many times people mistake pot worms for baby worms. Pot worms are very tiny thread like white worms that seem to like acidic things. Baby redworms are small and turn pink pretty quickly after hatching.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Cocoon pictures

  • teenee65
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thanks for that link. It didn't look like a baby from those pictures. I do have some cocoons in my bin - yahoo!

    This worm was white/clear and about 1 inch long and chubby and you could see the inside (is that the skeletal?) which was bluish. Does that sound like something I should purge from the bin when I see it?
    :)
    Tina

  • sqh1
    18 years ago

    Tina...IMHO If it's in the bin, that's where it should be.

  • teenee65
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thanks! Say, since it is so hot here in Houston, I have been putting the scraps in frozen to cool off the bin. yesterday I found a worm that was partially flattened so I started to think of what could be wrong. Shall I thaw out the food a little before putting it in?
    :)
    Thanks again!

  • billr12
    18 years ago

    No need to thaw out the scraps you put in during the warm part of the year. If they don't like it they will simply move away. In your area even during the winter it would do no harm. It might cause them to slow down eating and breeding during a cold spell.

  • klflorida
    18 years ago

    SQH1 OMG, I searched and searched for a photo of Cocoon pictures wondering if I had possibly seen any (Nope.) Thank you for posting that link.

    Today, while harvesting worms from my garden for my bin, I found many white cotten egg looking things. I thought perhaps they were worm cacoons and put them back. Oh well, a mystery yet to be solved.

    I posted earlier it was years before I found signs of worms in my yard. The first one I found was about 10 inches long, skinny and solid black; I came running into the house to show my new prized posession. Just as my husband loudly exclaimed that it wasn't a worm, the thing kind of fell apart. It left me holding a swigling tail as the rest of it dropped to the floor and slithered under my dishwasher. I found it while digging up my hostas someone told me were planted too deeply; seemed a likely place to find a worm.

  • shullboys
    15 years ago

    Recently I started a worm bin (inside). I purchased some red worms. About 1 month later I seem to have very few adult red worm and lots of small white hair like worms. What are these white worms and are they killing the red worms?

  • squeeze
    15 years ago

    they could be a number of things, there's a wide variety of decomposer organisms, but it's not likely they did anything to the redworms, what always makes worms "disappear" is poor conditions .... and that also encourages other things that don't usually show up .... too wet possibly, too much rotting food on the surface [as opposed to decomposing], poor air circulation

    Bill

  • jayteadesigns
    15 years ago

    They sound like pot worms (white worms), which like acidic and wet conditions. Do you think your red worms have disappeared because the bin is too wet?
    Pot worms don't hurt the other worms, they're just there for the free lunch.
    jt

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