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.

In contrast, composters are surface-dwelling or EPIGEIC worms, and their habitat is easily replicated in a worm bin. 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.

Perionyx excavatus
Our composting worm 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.

Perionyx excavatus is the worm of choice for tropical climates and is used extensively for vermicomposting in India, Cuba, Mexico and the Philippines.

Robust blueworms collected from local family farms may be purchased from Waikiki Worm Company, subject to availability. Click on the "Worm Shop" page for details.

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.