5.

Black-headed worm Aporrectodea longa

Earthworm
Identification Guide
A
Hint
Often a dark purplish This guide can be used for the OPAL Soil and Earthworm Survey
head, the rear end of the
body is much paler
Long and thin Start here These are the earthworm features used in this key
Fleshy lobe
Note that line drawings covering mouth 15th Segment Saddle
Which description best matches your worm? Is the body: Upper side
show the typical sizes of
Hint A Long and relatively thin or B Long and relatively fat? adult earthworms
Sometimes slightly
flattens its tail into a Long and fat
paddle shape Is it more than 2cm long, Head Under side
Sometimes it AND does it have a clearly
1st Segment Raised pads Male pore Saddle pads
B flattens its tail into a developed saddle?
wide paddle shape
It is not a mature earthworm – you can’t identify
No it with this Guide. At least 50% of the earthworms
you find will be immature
Hint
A stout worm,
often as thick Stripy earthworms
as a pencil 6. Lob worm Lumbricus terrestris Which description best matches your worm? Is the body:
The saddle is usually a A Longer and wider or B Shorter and narrower?
different colour to the rest of Saddle
Yes
A B
the body, and slightly wider usually
similar
Are the male pores Yes colour to
visible? the rest of
the body
4. Redhead worm No
Lumbricus rubellus
Is the whole body clearly Saddle
stripy on its upper surface Hint
usually
Yes when moving? pale Can exude an
unpleasant
Key continues on Is the earthworm longer than smelling
the other side
No 8cm when NOT moving? yellowish fluid
when handled
Red earthworms
Is the body from the first 1. Compost worm 2. Brandling worm
Return segment to the saddle partly No Yes Eisenia veneta Eisenia fetida
to start No
or entirely pale in colour
(whitish, pink or grey)? It may Yes
have some reddish or dark
Is the upper surface of the
segments
body, from the first segment
to the saddle, entirely dark in Yellow
colour (dark red, purplish red Is it greenish? ring on
Pale body
or chestnut brown)?
earthworms Hints
Yes No No Yes Often curls up in the hand
Key continues on 3. Green worm (green form) Yellow ring on body
the other side Allolobophora chlorotica Has 3 pairs of sucker-like discs (see 13)
Can exude a yellow fluid when handled

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 Photographs by: Harry Taylor and Chris N. Lowe5.
2
Is there a raised
Illustrations by: David T. Jones1,2. Text by: David whitish gland visible
T. Jones1,2, Chris N. Lowe5, Harry Taylor2, Paul
Egglestone2, Stephen Brooks2, Emma Sherlock2, Rosy pink on the underside
Saddle
Simon Norman4, Louise Parker4, Rebecca Farley4, or pale usually between the saddle
James Bone1, Martin Head1, Nick Voulvoulis1, pink head and the head?
orange
Linda Davies1, Carolina Bachariou1. 1Imperial Yes No
College London. 2Natural History Museum. 10. Rosy-tipped worm Aporrectodea rosea
3
Environment Agency. 4Field Studies Council.
5
University of Central Lancashire. Supported Hints
by the Esmee
8. Chestnut worm
Fairbairn Foundation. The head is usually rosy pink or pale pink up to Lumbricus castaneus
Designed by FSC the male pores
Publications.
Often has 2 or more whitish raised pads before
© OPAL 2015. the male pores. The saddle is usually orange, and 7. Octagonal- Is the swelling around the
All rights reserved. can be wider towards the rear end tailed worm Yes
Dendrobaena male pore only covering
octaedra one segment? No
Are the male pores
No Yes visible?
No
Yellow ring Does the worm have this
colour combination? Male You have probably found a rare
Hints pore worm which is not in this key.
Record it as unidentified
Has 3 pairs of sucker-
like discs on the
Pink or Whitish Darker
underside of alternate pale grey grey
segments of the saddle,
not always easy to see.
13. Green worm Saddle No Visible Not visible
(pale form)
The yellow ring can be Allolobophora chlorotica Yes Is the swelling around
faint
9. Little tree the male pores broad,
Often curls up in the worm Yes
No Satchellius
covering the entire width
hand
mammallis of adjacent segments?
Can exude a yellow fluid Does it have
when handled a yellow ring Red earthworms
Yes
towards the
head?
Hints
The front end up to the saddle is usually in
three distinct shades: pink or pale grey, then
No whitish, and then darker grey
The saddle pads usually form a two-humped
Hints Tail not ridge across three segments, but these can be
Distinct yellow or difficult to see
yellow tail only slightly
Can vary yellow
Distinct
from faint 11. Grey worm Aporrectodea calignosa
yellow tail Are the last four
blue-grey to a
pale rosy pink or five segments
Distinct colour distinctly yellow?
yellow May have a
tail
lilac-blue line Yes
Distinct Pale earthworms
12. Blue-grey worm on the upper yellow tail
Octolasion cyaneum surface

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 cm

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