by Wonder Worman | Oct 2, 2010 | Red Wiggler World
See that little tiny yellow speck that looks like a mini lemon. See it? See it?
Do you know what it is? huh? huh? come on do ya? do ya?
If you have a worm bin, maybe you’ve seen it before.
Well if you’re still at a loss and you’ve never laid eyes on it in your entire life, I bet you have an idea…just by the title of the blog.
It’s the result of doing “it”, making whoopie in the worm world. Red Wigglers, as with other worms, are hermaphrodites. They have both male and female parts and need each other to reproduce. I have seen this in action, and it is really cool. They actually form a love knot. After doing “it”, they each leave behind a cocoon.
After 3-4 weeks, about 5-10 worms will hatch from the cocoon. Then these babies will be reproducing new compost eating, earth saving creatures in 2-3 months and the cycle will start again.
Thought it would be cool to share this with ya! and don’t worry you won’t have worms crawlin’ out of your bin…they self regulate their population. They determine their space and reproduce accordingly!
Happy wormin’
by Wonder Worman | Oct 1, 2009 | Less in the Landfill, Red Wiggler World
Yesterday was too cold for me to go outside and check the bins! Seriously the morning temp was 30, and I didn’t want to disturb the worms! So today, Wednesday, I headed out there excited to see their progress. They were busy eating away at all the waste. You can see 2 worms above.
The temperature did drop to 58 in the bin. The water melon is breaking down. Notice the change of color on the rind. It is turning brown.
I spy two worms? Can you? I also spy an egg cocoon! Can you?
I will show you more tomorrow!
Happy wormin‘
by Wonder Worman | Aug 8, 2008 | Red Wiggler World
Red Wigglers are hermaphrodites. Which means, they have both male and female reproductive organs. Although they have both organs, they still need each other to mate. Being around these magnificent creatures, I have witnessed this amazing procedure. They actually form a knot, a “love knot”. While knotted up, a mucus forms around the band, the clitellum. The mucus contains sperm, and the sperm is deposited in the microscopic sac located underneath the clitellum. As days past, the mucus will harden and form a cocoon. The Red Wiggler will then back it’s head out of the clitellum and the cocoon will be deposited into the bedding.
I am learning new facts about my sidekicks every day. I search internet sites and would like to credit: ourvitalearth.com and cathyscomposters.com
by Wonder Worman | Jul 31, 2008 | Red Wiggler World
Now that the weather is warmer in Bend, I have been noticing many egg cocoons. The worms are becoming more active and therefore mating a bunch more. They leave behind a golden tear shaped cocoon. It almost looks like a seed (see photo). The color of the cocoon will change as the baby worms develop. Right before they hatch, the cocoon will be a deep red almost maroon color. Inside, there are about 5-10 babies ready to feed on the kitchen scraps. It takes about 3 weeks for the babies to emerge. Once they have hatched, it takes about 8 weeks for them to be an adult worm and the mating process will begin again.
See that little tiny yellow speck that looks like a mini lemon. See it? See it? 
