COCOON DEPOSITION BY THE AFRICAN NIGHTCRAWLER EUDRILUS-EUGENIAE (OLIGOCHAETA)

Laboratory studies were undertaken with the compost worm, Eudrilus eug eniae in order to determine the pattern of cocoon deposition. Experime nts were performed over a period of 63 days with worms in containers w ith different depths of urine free cattle manure as substrate. A cocoo n production rate of 1.7 cocoons per worm per day was obtained and mos t of the cocoons (more than 80%) were deposited in the uppermost 10 cm of the substrate. A harvesting method that removes this layer will th erefore collect most of the cocoons.