Latest Earthworm Stories

Researchers at Reading University have found that metal-munching earthworms can help plants to clean up contaminated soils.The team noticed that subtle changes occurred in metals as worms ingested and excreted soil, making it easier for plants to take up potentially toxic metals from contaminated land.Experts suggested at the British Association Science Festival in Liverpool that earthworms could be the future "21st Century eco-warriors".The UK has many areas with contaminated soil...

By Guerrero, Rafael D III Utilizing vermicomposting improves soil fertility, reduces costs and mitigates pollution in the Philippines. THE Philippines has a robust agricultural economy with its extensive land and water resources. The production of crops such as rice, coconut and sugarcane, along with fisheries (aquaculture), is the mainstay of the country's agricultural base. One of the major constraints in the production of crops and fish in the Philippines is the high cost of inputs,...

By Goldstein, Jerome AROUND the globe, drought, water quality and unproductive soils make the headlines with increasing frequency these days. In many cases, the news stories are about worldwide food shortages resulting from these conditions. A recent report on a United Nations' meeting in Rome discussed the need for international aid in the form of seed and fertilizer to expand agricultural production. But what about compost? Increasingly, food shortages are tied to drought, or soils that...

By Erik Robinson, The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash. Jun. 29--Say that you're a green-minded apartment or condo dweller striving to live sustainably. You've already minimized your carbon footprint by foregoing the large house and yard that characterizes much of suburbia, but the idea of composting your food scraps seems a little unwieldy. You don't have anywhere to put a composting bin the size of a trash can, much less a garden in which to plow the nutrient-rich product it creates. Plus,...

Here's an idea: Start a project with the kids that will teach them something important about how the Earth sustains itself. Set up a container for vermicomposting. (Yes, this project involves worms. But keep reading.) Vermicomposting turns kitchen waste into compost. You put worms in a container, provide the right environment, then toss your leftovers in with them. And the worms do their job, eating their way through the scraps and, as time goes by, turning all that waste into a nutrient-rich...

By Kumar, Sunil Sharma, Vishal; Bhoyar, R V; Bhattacharyya, J K; Chakrabarti, Tapan ABSTRACT: The effect of heavy metals on the activities of earthworm species Eudrillus eugineae was studied during vermicomposting of municipal solid waste (MSW) spiked with heavy metals. The activities of earthworms, in terms of growth and biomass production and number of cocoons produced, were monitored periodically, and the concentration of heavy metals in earthworms and substrates was determined at...

A rare 3-foot-long spitting earthworm that smells like lilies is at the heart of a legal battle between conservationists and the U.S. government. When taxonomist Frank Smith discovered the giant Palouse earthworm (Driloleirus americanus) in 1897 by, he described it as "very abundant." Nowadays, however, sightings of the worm are rare. The only recent confirmed worm sighting was made in 2005 by a University of Idaho researcher. Before that, the giant worm had not...

By Melear, Claudia T Lunsford, Eddie Abstract. This article provides basic information on how a common species of earthworm, Eisenia fetida, can be used in the biology classroom as well as a discussion of how to establish and care for a vermicompost bin. We discuss ideas for inquiry activities with the organism and provide a sample-guided inquiry that demonstrates how a long-term, theme-based unit involving earthworms can address a wide variety of content from the National Science Education...

By Gordon Bell CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Thousands of earthworms guzzle metric tons of scrap food left over from the tables of the rich and famous at South Africa's plush Mount Nelson hotel, quietly doing their bit to save the planet. Cape Town's oldest and most famous hotel -- a pink temple to pampering where visiting celebrities are welcomed by doormen in traditional colonial-era pith helmets -- has its own worm farm to help slash waste and, ultimately, tackle climate change. "This may...

By Gordon BellCAPE TOWN -- Thousands of earthworms guzzle metric tons of scrap food left over from the tables of the rich and famous at South Africa's plush Mount Nelson hotel, quietly doing their bit to save the planet.Cape Town's oldest and most famous hotel -- a pink temple to pampering where visiting celebrities are welcomed by doormen in traditional colonial-era pith helmets -- has its own worm farm to help slash waste and, ultimately, tackle climate change."This may seem simplistic...