J.B.,
Given my limited entomology course work and a summer job of identifying aqu=
atic insect larvae, your drawing bears a strong resemblance to larvae of in=
sects in the Order Diptera (i.e, true flies). Their size makes me think th=
ey are recently hatched from eggs and based on your statement that you purc=
hased the compost from a store, the unknown origin could be manure or anyth=
ing that might attract flies. Very likely, you have something that will gi=
ve rise to gnats, midges, or other small flies in a matter of a week or two=
given the right conditions.
KA Sikkema
To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2004 7:56 PM
Subject: [compost_tea] Re: Worms in my ACT
Thanks for your reply. To answer a few of your questions their size
is fairly consistent, I do not use vermicompost, I use two varieties
one of which was store bought in bag and the other in bulk from a
soil yard. I noticed the worms yesterday but that does not mean
they weren't there a day or two before. These worms seem to be
eating the film on the side of the brewer that was left after I used
a portion of the brew and left it running. They also do not seem to
do much when placed on earth. There are some signs of them when I
filtered a gallon of tea or so that appear to be dead. I have
viewed them under a 75x microscope and they look very angry. I will
try to give a better discription. They appear to have retractable
feelers at both ends. The tail end seems to be mostly stationary as
the head tends to be all over the place. I have sketched a picture
and posted it in the photos section. Please don't laugh at my
drawing. Thanks for any input.
J.B.
--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "Ted Peterson"
<ted.peterson_at_t...> wrote:
> I have found micronematodes in my tea. These are extracted from
the compost. Worms as large as the one you are showing probably are
earthworms and you may be getting them if you use vermicompost with
worm eggs in it. They could be some other type of worm but the
color looks a lot like earthworms. However, I could be
misintrepting what you are getting so a few questions might help you
and me and others to discern what these are.
>
> Are there different sizes of these worms? Do you use
vermicompost? How much of the compost is manure? How old is the
compost? Do you have worms in your compost? Is you compost on worm-
rich earth? How long have you noticed the worms? What do you mean
by devouring your biofilm? If you take the worm out and put it in
some earth, what does it do? Do you find dead ones in your tea?
>
> Anyway, this may help get a handle on the type of worm you are
seeing. Like I said, I find micronematodes in my tea all the time
but they are not too common. I'll get a couple in a sample and I
have to brew a long time to see some real action. These worms eat
the bacteria/fungal biomass and digest the amounts in a sample in
about 4 to 6 hours. I have watched and timed it with observations
every 30 minutes. You could have the same thing but I haven't seen
them without a microscope. I have seen segmented larvae but mostly
these are dead.
>
> Ted Peterson
> EW/SOE
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: deepseajb
> To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2004 9:25 AM
> Subject: [compost_tea] Re: Worms in my ACT
>
>
> --- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "deepseajb" <deepseajb_at_y...>
> wrote:
> > I have used a new compost for my tea, and have noticed these
> little
> > worm like things devouring the bio-film in my brewer. Is this
good
> > or bad thanks for your input.
> > J.B.
>
> I have posted a picture in the photo album maybe that will help.
> Thank you
> J.B.
>
>
>
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Received on Sun Apr 25 2004 - 23:31:19 EDT