Other body colours   Aporrectodea icteria Common Name: Mottled worm, Ver marbré Length: 55-135 mm    Habitat: This species has been found in garden soil, meadows, and orchards. Canadian Distribution: Ontario Interesting Facts and Features: This species has only been found in two places in North America: Ontario and New York. Aporrectodea rosea Common Name: Pink soil worm, Ver rose du sol Length: 25-85 m    Habitat: This species is commonly found in fields, gardens, pastures, forests, and under leaves and stones. It has also been spotted along the shores of rivers and lakes. Canadian Distribution: Alberta, British Columbia, Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec Interesting Facts and Features: This species has a unique flared clitellum, a pink head and a gray body. Aporrectodea trapezoides Common Name: Southern worm, Ver méridional Length: 80-140 mm    Habitat: This species is commonly found in the soil around the roots of potted plants, in gardens, cultivated fields, forests, soils of various types, on the banks of streams, and occasionally in sandy soils. Canadian Distribution: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec Interesting Facts and Features: This earthworm is reasonably drought tolerant. Aporrectodea tuberculata Common Name: Canadian worm, Ver canadien Length: 90-150 mm    Habitat: This species is widely distributed in most habitats. It has been found in wet areas near streams and springs where there was a large concentration of organic matter. Other sightings include under logs, compost, peat, rocks, ditches, turf, and occasionally in manure. Canadian Distribution: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. Interesting Facts and Features: This species is very common in Canada. Aporrectodea turgida Common Name: Pasture worm, Ver du pâturage Length: 60-85 mm    Habitat: This species has a broad range of habitats, including gardens, fields, turf, leaf litter in forests, compost, banks of spring sand streams, wasteland, city dumps, and streams. It is commonly found in irrigated areas. Canadian Distribution: Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan Octolasion cyaneum Common Name: Woodland blue worm, Ver bleu des bois Length: 65-180 mm    Habitat: This species has been found under stones, in water, in moss, stream banks, ploughed fields, wet sand and forest soil. This species is also commonly found under logs and rocks near streambeds. Canadian Distribution: Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan Interesting Fact and Features: This species is relatively rare in North America, and it can be recognized by its bluish hue. Octolasion tyrtaeum Common Name: Woodland white worm, Ver blanc des bois Length: 25-130 mm    Habitat: This species is commonly found under stones, logs, peat, leaf mold, compost, forest litter, gardens, cultivated fields, pastures, stream banks, in springs, and around the roots of submerged vegetation. Canadian Distribution: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec Interesting Facts and Features: This earthworm can be recognized by its snub nose, light colour (almost gray), and the long distance between the clitellum and the nose (> 2 cm). Sparganophilus eiseni Common Name: American mud worm, Ver américain de la vase Length: 150-200 mm    Habitat: This species is often found living in muddy areas. Examples of such locations include the muddy banks of streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. Canadian Distribution: Ontario Interesting Facts and Features: This is one of the longest earthworms in Canada, and its clitellum is located unusually close to its nose (<1 cm). Earthworms NOT found in the key   Aporrectodea bowcrowensis Common Name: none Length: 17-60 mm Habitat: This species has only been found in an unglaciated area of the Porcupine Hills in Alberta. Canadian Distribution: Alberta Physical Description: This earthworm has an epilobic prostomium, it has no colour (not white, green, or red), the clitellum is not flared ventrally, and the tubercula pubertatis are not in the form of small discs. The tubercula pubertatis are located on segments 29-30. The clitellum is located on segments 25-32, and there are genital tumescence on one or more segments in front of the clitellum. Interesting Facts and Features: This earthworm species is native to Canada. Arctiostrotus vancouverensis Common Name: none Length: 167-381 mm Habitat: This species has been found in soil under western hemlock, silver fir, western red-cedar, salal, red huckleberry, and deer fern. It has also been found in organic material, onto and into old stumps. Canadian Distribution: This species has only been found in organic matter on Vancouver Island (British Columbia) and in Washington state. Physical Description: This earthworm has a tanylobic prostomium, separate setae, is unpigmented when young but develops an orange-brown flush over its entire body as an adult (especially on the back of the head). The annular clitellum is located on segments 13-18. Interesting Facts and Features: This earthworm species is characteristic of the forests of Vancouver Island. It plays a significant role in the formation of humus (the layer of organic matter at the top of a soil profile; habitat for most decomposers). It was named after the location where it was found. Bimastos lawrenceae Common Name: none Length: data not available Habitat: This species has been found in a spruce-hemlock forest, containing moist organic matter and matted vegetation in wet situations. Examples of such environments include mosses and matted vegetation in steep cold (4°C) streams, recent clearcuts, muck of skunk-cabbage swamps, and under wet bark. Canadian Distribution: Vancouver Island British Columbia Physical Description: This earthworm has an epilobic prostomium, and its saddle-shaped clitellum is located on segments 25-34. The dorsal side of this species is a pale red colour, while the ventral side (stomach) is transparent. The setae are closely paired. This species was named after the original collector. To date, only five specimens have been studied. Interesting Facts and Features: Only a few were found on Vancouver Island (near Port Alberni). The presence of Bimastos lawrenceae at this location may provide evidence for a preglacial distribution of Bimastos across Canadian North America, meaning this species of earthworm was able to survive the ice age. Eisenia hortensis Common Name: none Length: data not available Habitat: This species has been found in the United States of America in cultivated soil, gardens, pastures, woodlands, and is abundant in soils bordering rivers and lakes. It has also been sighted in botanical gardens, lawns, peat bog, compost, and under manure. Canadian Distribution: open pasture in Peace River Alberta Physical Description: This earthworm has an epilobic prostomium, a male pore on segment 15, widely paired setae, and has a red to reddish-brown colour on its back. There are also colourless areas on the sides of segment 11. The clitellum is located on segments 26, 27, 28-32, 33, 34. The tubercula pubertatis are found on segments 30-31.   previous page | home | next page