Earthworm species AF (African Night Crawler)

Earthworm AF is popular for Raising earthworms to produce fertilizer Due to the habit of earthworms being good at eating. and provides quite good vermicompost They also breed quickly and are quite large. Sorting is therefore easier than other species.

General characteristics

– The body has a size of 130-250 x 5-8 millimeters.

– The body is reddish-brown mixed with grey.

– Reproduce by means of sex

– Mating pairs underground

– Can create an average of 162-188 egg bags/bird/year.

– It takes approximately 13-27 days to hatch, with an average of 2 eggs hatching/egg bag.

– Takes 6-10 months to grow to full maturity.

– Lives on the surface of the soil Eat decomposed organic matter as food.

– Has a long life of 4-5 years

This species of earthworm is a red earthworm that is quite large. Grows and reproduces very quickly. Generally known as the African night crawler, it can move quickly. This species of earthworm is widely raised. In addition to being used in the production of vermicompost, this species of earthworm is also very suitable for producing protein supplements for use in animal feed. Because they are large and have a very high rate of reproduction. But there are disadvantages that this species of earthworm has a low tolerance to inappropriate temperature ranges, is difficult to raise, and difficult to harvest. This is because this species of earthworm is native to the tropics. which likes relatively high temperatures They will not grow well in temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius and will die in temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius. Raising this species of earthworm in cold regions is limited to being raised only in greenhouses with temperature control during winter in order to be raised well. For raising outside the greenhouse It is suitable only for tropical or sub-tropical areas. For the use of waste management, it was found that This species of earthworm has the ability to quickly decompose large quantities of waste.