Glad you asked! First you must learn how to catch a unique worm... So, you ask, "how do I catch a unique worm?" and I answer, "Unique up on it and grab the little critter!"

"Then how do you catch a tame one?", you ask. "Well', says I, "Tame way of course!"

All right all ready!

Mankind has always had a propensity for removing animals (of one sort or another), from their natural free state and using them for our own ends. Any animal finding itself being used for human purposes and accepting that condition is considered to be domesticated or possibly tamed. I make the distinction between those kinds of animals which obediently accept their lot as servants to the humans and those who do not. There are species which do not lend themselves to easy domestication or taming; Great White Sharks for instance.

To be tamed is a bit different than being used for domestic purposes, as it seems to me to imply loyalty or submission on the part of the 'tamed' but only one that is cooperatively useful to humans for 'domesticated' to apply. An example of that type of thinking might be that one could consistantly bait sharks into a particular area to show to tourists. The sharks have then met the criteria for being 'domesticated' but not that for being 'tame'. The lack of tamability could be demonstrated by tossing a tourist or two in with the feeding sharks.

The point of the whole thing is that worms are not tame they are only domesticated. They go on about their natural business without regard for those who have become their keepers, and are bound only by their own nature to the tasks to which mankind may set them. Therefore, domesticated worms must be handled within the parameters of their feral nature and can not be made to adjust to human specifications. Those who domesticate worms do so by observing the natural habits and living conditions of the worm in it's feral state, then selecting the varity of worm which is already doing the job which the handler wants done. The worms then, set the conditions under which they are willing or able to perform tasks and in fact set which tasks they will perform (if any). Man, having collected a few of the worms with the 'right' habits, simply supplies what the worms like best, protects them from harm, and stands back while they happily do their thing. The key here is that the domestic worm is doing exactly what it would do anyway if man were not involved, only now, the critters are doing it where man wants them to and for our own purposes. Just don't fall into that worm box! What's that? Worms don't have any teeth? Well nevermind...

Some varities of worms have habits and abilities which lend themselves to cultivation by man. Others are of no major use to man in a domestic role because their natural (and unchangable) lifestyles and/or habitat preclude cultivation or concentration by us. Nightcrawlers (oops sorry about that!) L. terrestris, is slow breeding, likes to lay cocoons at great depts in the soil, doesn't like to have it's food concentrated as a bin farmer would do, and is apt to simply pack up and move a few miles down the road for no good reason. They are domesticated only in so far as, under the right conditions, they will congrigate in great numbers in some fields and so can be harvested by picking. They do not, on the other hand, lend themselves to activities which require them being confined in anyway. Wild and free, they remain out in the fields, not in pens or bins or such, unless of course they are caught and forcibly detained or like the sharks, are inticed.

Other kinds of worms lend themselves readily to domestication, having habits, abilities and tolerances which the more feral varities lack. The tasks or uses to which these worms may be put and the ability to concentrate large numbers of them to get things accomplished are the criteria used to decide which kinds will be used and for what purposes. Now, with a little thought, you can see why some kinds of worms die in captivity while others multiply like weeds. Also, with a bit of study, you should be able to pick varities which will do what you need to get done.

Earlier, on this page, I mentioned some of the uses to which I put worms. Those uses included fertilizing and aeration of my garden soil, fishing, garbage eating, green waste composting, and the use of their casts on my house plants. No one variety of worm is able or willing to perform all these tasks effeciently but, by carefully selecting the right worm for the right job, I get excellent cooperation from the worms and great results.

In the next section, we'll leave behind most of the feral kinds of worms and look at some of the tasks for which worms are currently domesticated, also delving into what varieties are used for those tasks and why. See ya there...