So the kids were wondering how long the worms in the wormery live for, and I couldn’t answer the question, so I thought what a great idea for a post. I am sure other people would want to know that too so here’s what I found out.
The life span of a worm in a wormery is approximatley 2.5 years, they reach sex maturity around 15 weeks depending on worm type, and then will breed every 3-4 days starting in spring and going through till autumn.
Below I have contructed a handy table to fill in a few blanks that you may have, including the reproduction rate for your worms and the other names they go by. Also find out what happens to the dead worms in your wormery.
| Eisenia fetida | Eisenia hortensis | |
| Other Names Include | redworm, brandling worm, panfish worm, trout worm, tiger worm, red wiggler worm, | Dendrobaena veneta, European Nightcrawler, Bluenose worm |
| Length | upto 130mm | upto 100mm |
| Sexual Maturity | about 12 weeks | upto 18 weeks |
| Life Span | avg. 2.5 years | avg. 2.5 years |
| Reproduction Rate | 3 cacoons per week approx 40 young per month | approx. 1.5 cacoons per adult per week average 4 young per month |
| Food Consumption | Will eat their own weight in food per day | Will eat half their own weight in food per day |
| Notes | – Commonly found in manure | – A great worm for fishing – Easier to harvest than tiger worms |
Interesting to see the reproduction rate of the tiger worm being around 40 young per month, compared with only 4 from the nightcrawler. Thats 10 times as many worms every month.
What Happens To The Dead Worms?
The dead worms will just decompose and this happens veru quickly because the water content of their bodies are around 85%. They will end becoming part of the compost which in turn gets but back into your garden.