5) Euro reproduction and maturation is somewhat slower than in Red Worms – A population of Euros will tend to grow at a slower rate than a population of Red Worms. Here are some numbers George M. shared with me from his own operation
REDS
Cocoon Laying – 3 cocoons per worm per week
Cocoon Incubation – 14-21 days
Viable worms per cocoon – ~3
Time to Maturity – 42 days
EUROS
Cocoon Laying – 2 cocoons per worm per week
Cocoon Incubation – 21-28 days
Viable worms per cocoon – ~1
Time to Maturity – 56 days
Numbers from the literature (those from research conducted by Dr. Clive Edwards and associates) aren’t too much different, although incubation and maturity times for Euros tend to be greater. In all honesty, I tend to trust numbers from “real world” worm farming systems a bit more than experimental lab set-ups – but the long and the short of it is that all these stats should simply be used for comparative purposes, and even then it’s always going to totally depend on a variety of different conditions (eg. both George and the academics seem to keep their worms at 25 C / 77 F).