1. A fifth-grade school enrichment program
4-H Vermicomposting
A fifth-grade school
enrichment program

2. Lesson 4: Other Creatures in Worm Bin
Objectives
Find out what other creatures are in worm bin
Find out the relationships between what you find and the worms
Review
Describe external anatomy of worms
Share how to prepare and maintain bedding in worm bin

3. Review: Label External Anatomy Features
Segments Clitellum Anus
Mouth Setae

4. Review: Bedding No glossy paper!
Bedding can be shredded newspaper, paper, bags, or cardboard
Keep bedding material in worm bin moist. A worm’s body is __% to __% water
Soak bedding, then squeeze out most water

5. Other Creatures in Worm Bin
Worms are not the only decomposers in worm bins
Many creatures found in soil and decaying food live there
These creatures are consumers, like worms, because they eat organic matter in the bin

6. White Worms (Enchytraeids)
These thin, segmented worms are so small (1/4 inch to one inch long) that they are often mistaken for baby redworms, which are pinkish and somewhat see-through
White worms feed on organic matter, such as decaying vegetation and food scraps

7. Mites (Acarina)
These round, eight-legged creatures are so tiny they are hard to see. They are usually white, brown, or bright red, and appear in clusters.
(No, this is not a life-size picture of a mite!)

8. Fruit Flies (Drosophilae)
Closeup view of
a fruit fly’s compound eye!
These tiny flies feed
on ripening or
fermenting fruit

9. Springtails (Collembola)
These tiny (1/16 of an inch) white creatures spring away in different directions if you try to touch them. You will often see several hundred in the worm bin, looking like grains of salt.

10. Sow Bugs (Isopods)
These creatures have gray or brown ½ inch bodies that look like tiny armadillos with series of flattened plates on their bodies
Although these pictures make the sow bug and armadillo look the same size, the armadillo is MUCH larger!