Cocoons can be a cost-effective way to start vermicomposting or speed up worm regeneration by adding cocoons to your existing bin! Each cocoon can contain 1-5 baby worms!
Raising worms from cocoon to sexual maturity takes 3-4 months. Hatching occurs in 2-5 weeks in good conditions. Good conditions for hatching include: stable temperatures of 20-30°C and moist bedding covered to retain moisture. Baby worms love soft, nutrient rich foods such as fruit and vegetable scraps. Favourites include apple, banana, strawberry, mango and cucumber. The smaller and softer the food, the easier it is for the babies to eat. Therefore making fruit/vegetable smoothies and mixing with bedding is ideal food for them.
Get a jump start by adding cocoons to your worm bin, as it can take your worms time to adapt to their new bin and start laying cocoons. Red Wiggler cocoons are a great addition to any worm bin, compost bin, garden bed, or many other applications. Cocoons also are very hardy and ship very well in the mail. Each cocoon can contain 1-5 baby worms.
European Nightcrawler cocoons ship when temperatures between Kitchener, ON and shipping destination are below 29°C or above 0°C. We generally ship Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday only to ensure live delivery. Please check temperatures en route including Kitchener and your own area to check weather conditions.
IMPORTANT: If you contact the carrier and change any shipping details during transit, a double shipping charge will be applied. Please make sure address is 100% accurate (including buzzer code if applicable) at checkout.
Shipments sent to carrier in 1-5 business days in favorable weather! Pickup is always available when in stock in 1-5 business days. PRODUCT SHIPPING WEIGHT: 1.5 KG
European Nightcrawler Facts:
European Nightcrawlers (ENC) are larger than red wigglers, eat the same foods, multiply fast, and are tolerant of a wide variety of conditions! We recommend Euros to any worm farmer. Commonly used as a fishing worm as well! Also known as Super Reds, they are the most popular compost worm in Europe!
ENCs are for indoor and outdoor raising. ENC (or their cocoons) will survive the winter outside in a large compost bin, garden bed, or raised bed. Add lots of organics to your bin throughout the winter to keep the bin hot and worms active! We recommend having both an indoor and outdoor compost bin, the indoor bin for regular composting and the outdoor for large batches of food scraps or as a backup.
ENCs can tolerate a wide variety of temperatures between 0 and 35 degrees celsius but thrive in temperatures above 20 degrees celsius.
They are the cousin to the Red Wiggler (Eisenia Fetida) but can grow larger and burrow deeper. They can co-exist with other worm species.