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WormWatch

WormWatch Observation Form
What is WormWatch?	WormWatch Identification
WormWatch Tips	Worm Wit

WormWatch Identification

The seven species illustrated on our WormWatch ID poster are the most common and widely distributed of the 25 earthworm species that have been found in Canada to date. Among them are representatives from the three categories of earthworm species — deep (anecic), mid (endogeic) and shallow (epigeic) burrowers. Anecic species such as the dew-worm make deep, vertical tunnels in the soil, while endogeic species like the Canadian worm burrow continuously, creating a network of vertical and horizontal channels. The red marsh worm, together with other epigeic species, lives in the leaf litter and uppermost layer of the soil, forming shallow burrows.

Worm diagram

In addition to their burrowing habits, earthworms can be classified by size, colour and pattern of genital tumescences (GT) and tubercular pubertatis (TP) within the region of the clitellum (the swelling about one-third of the way down from the head of adult earthworms). Refer to the new taxonomic key to identify the species you find.

Click on a worm below to see an illustration and ID information

Octagonal-tail worm (Dendrobaena octaedra)	Pink soil worm (Aporrectodea rosea)
Red marsh worm (Lumbricus rubellus)	Dew-worm or nightcrawler (Lumbricus terrestris)
Canadian worm (Aporrectodea tuberculata)	Pasture worm (Aporrectodea turgida)
Woodland white worm (Octolasion tyrtaeum)

	Octagonal-tail worm (Dendrobaena octaedra) Length: small Colour: varies from red, dark red, to purple Epigeic (shallow burrower). The segments after the clitellum (all the way to the tail) have a slightly octagonal shape. Tip of tail same colour as body; GT in clitellum.

	Pink soil worm (Aporrectodea rosea) Length: small Colour: nose is bubble gum pink, the rest of the body is a greyish colour Epigeic (shallow burrower)

	Red marsh worm (Lumbricus rubellus) Length: medium Colour: varies from ruddy brown to red-violet. It is iridescent dorsally and pale yellow ventrally Epigeic (shallow burrower). GT on all segments in clitellum and on segments surrounding clitellum.

	Dew-worm or Nightcrawler (Lumbricus terrestris) Length: large Colour: brownish-red or violet colour on its dorsal (top) side; yellowish-orange on its ventral (under) side Anecic (deep burrower). More than 2 cm between nose and start of clitellum; the segments located behind the clitellum to the tip of its tail are often quite flat.

	Canadian worm (Aporrectodea tuberculata) Length: medium to large Colour: white or greyish Endogeic (mid burrower). Alternating pattern of three pairs of GT; TP look like pyramids with their points facing into non-GT segments.

	Pasture Worm (Aporrectodea turgida) Length: medium to large Colour: brownish to greyish Endogeic (mid burrower). Pattern of GT (three pairs together at the tail-end of the clitellum); one part of the TP pointing to the middle pair of GT, and the other pointing to the non-GT segment before the group of GT.

	Woodland White Worm (Octolasion tyrtaeum) Length: medium to large Colour: grey-white, bluish-grey, may have white patches near tail Endogeic (mid burrower). No GT within the clitellum area; long, whitish, pencil-thin TP along the edges of the clitellum.

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