Identification

• Red wiggler worms are 3 inches long at maturity and feature up to 120 segments, each maroon in color separated by light yellow bands. They can eat from 50 to 100 percent of their weight per day, so buy 1 lb. of worms if you generate a half-pound of food scraps per day.
  
  

Significance

• Red wigglers live naturally in leaf litter and manure and so adapt well to the confined system of a worm bin, typically a box or plastic tote of a shallow depth to allow the bin contents to stay aerated. While some hobbyists use European nightcrawlers, or Eisenia hortensis, most worms used for composting are red wrigglers, North Carolina State University notes.
  
  

Considerations

• Red wiggler worms do best in moist but not soggy conditions, kept in a temperature range between 55 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit, Washington State University advises. They need oxygen provided by holes to provide airflow through their bin.