About Our Worms

The right worm for the job
You may already be familiar with the ENDOGEIC worms that you dig up in your garden. These sub-surface dwellers, the earthworkers, promote healthy soil by creating tunnels that aid aeration, water penetration and water retention. They eat mineral soil along with bits of decaying matter and deposit their pile of castings on the surface. They live solitary, stable lives below the surface and are specialists in tilling the soil. Endogeic worms are NOT suitable for worm bins - leave them in your garden.

 
The common topsoil worm Amynthas gracilis is an endogeic worm that you may also find in compost heaps - they can tolerate a wide range of conditions.
 

In contrast to the sub-surface dwellers, composters are surface-dwelling or EPIGEIC worms. In nature, they eat decaying organic mater that falls on the surface of the soil, primarily animal manure. They have a high metabolism and live in dense colonies. They are specialists in waste management, processing their weight a day. Compostiing worms require a moist, nutrient-rich environment and in captivity will enthusiastically eat our household waste, including food scraps, cardboard, and paper. They reproduce prodigiously, and produce dark, rich castings called vermicast – a superb soil amendment and organic fertilizer.

We can easily replicate the habitat of epigeic worms in our worm bins. Acclimated to a rapidly-changing and comparatively dangerous life above the surface of the soil, epigeic worms tolerate the stress of handling and harvesting.


Perionyx excavatus
The composting worm found in Hawaii is Perionyx excavatus, also called Indian blue, Malaysian blue, or blueworm. Although not native to Hawaii, they have been established here for a very long time and are commonly found wherever manure and water meet on pig farms, chicken farms and horse stables. We collect and purchase these worms from suppliers and family farms on Oahu and the Big Island.
Eisenia fetida
The red wiggler or redworm, Eisenia fetida, is the composting worm most often used on the mainland but it's rare in Hawaii. There are a few colonies on Maui from which we started our own breedstock a few years ago. Redworms are easily distinguished from blues by their stouter body build and the shape and location of the clitellum, the organ that creates the egg capsules. In the blueworms, it appears as a light-colored band near the head end, resembling a collar. In redworms, the clitellum is further down the body and it puffs out a bit like a cummerbund.

A mixed colony for best results
We sell mixed colonies only – mostly blueworms with a few of the rarer reds included. Over time you may notice the redworms becoming the predominant worm in your bin, as they seem better suited to mature bin conditions. Both species of worms are excellent eaters and will reproduce readily with sufficient food and space, capable of doubling their numbers every 60 days in good conditions.

Composting worms are sold by the measured pound at $160 per pound: 1/4 pound for $40. The garden worms, Amynthas gracilis, are priced at 25¢ each. We stock only a limited supply, so please pre-order with 48 hours notice if you need more than 50 worms.

Please do not import worms!
It is against the law to import worms from the mainland or other countries. The fine for importation is $25,000. Don't even think about it!

While the worms themselves cause no harm, they may carry in their gut the larva of an invasive species, the cluster fly. Local worms shipped interisland must be inspected and certified by the State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture.