Which species should you choose for artificially farming earthworms? These six are all suitable

1. Pheretima guillelmi.

Generally 90-250 mm long and 5-10 mm wide, with a bluish-yellow, grayish-green or grayish-blue dorsal side and a grayish-blue dorsal midline. It is currently farmed more in the Jiangsu and Shanghai areas.

2. Pheretima hupeiensis.

The body is slender, 70-220 mm long and 3-6 mm wide, entirely grass green, with the dorsal midline purple-green or dark green, and a red dorsal blood vessel commonly seen. The ventral side is gray, and the coelomic fluid at the tail often has a sapphire-blue fluorescence. It is a variety with a relatively high reproduction rate and broad adaptability.

3. Pheretima aspergillum.

The individual is relatively large, 120-400 mm long and 6-12 mm wide, with a purple-gray dorsal side and a darker rear part, and the setal ring is slightly white. It is a commonly used earthworm in Chinese medicinal materials, distributed in Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and other places. It is relatively difficult to establish, and it is better farmed in grassland with high-quality soil and in orchards and nurseries with good irrigation conditions.

4. Pheretima tschiliensis.

80-150 mm long and 2.5-5 mm wide, with the dorsal color medium gray or chestnut, and the rear part light green. It is distributed along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, has the characteristics of being relatively widely distributed and better at establishing, and is suitable for farming in vegetable plots, sweet potato and other crop fields.

5. Earthworms of the genus Eisenia.

This genus has nearly 20 species, found in all provinces and regions of China. At present, the most commonly farmed in the world are Eisenia fetida and Eisenia andrei of this genus.

6. Eisenia fetida.

60-130 mm long and 3-5 mm wide, with a mature body weight of 0.4-1.2 grams. The dorsal and lateral sides are orange-red or chestnut red, with obvious stripes in appearance, and both sides of the tail are ginger yellow. It likes to live in rotten grass piles, sludge and garbage dumps, and has the advantages of strong tendency toward manure, high reproduction rate, good establishment, thick flesh and high nutritional value.