ScientificName: Subclass Oligochaeta, Order Haplotaxida, Suborder Lumbricina, Many Families
Description: Long (1 to 8 in. average), slender, slimy, reddish brown colored bodies.
Habitat/Food: Earthworms live mostly underground feeding only on dead and decaying matter in the soil.
Life Cycle: Earthworms are hermaphrodites (both female and male organs within the same individual) but generally cannot fertilize their own eggs.
Organic Control: None needed. They should be encouraged.
Interesting Fact: The Giant Gippsland Earthworm can grow to over 10 feet long. In the right conditions, earthworms can produce over 10 pounds of earthworm casting per year.