Identifying & Recording Earthworms

There are currently 29 species of earthworm living freely in soils in the UK. They are vital to the economic health of our country, as they are crucial for soil health, food production, waste decomposition and even flood mitigation. They are also a vital food resource for many other species of wildlife. In addition, they were a lifelong obsession of Charles Darwin, and have many fascinating behaviours.

This weekend course will provide an introduction to earthworms as a group, their natural history, how to collect them and how to identify them to species level using microscopes. The course will be a mixture of classroom sessions and fieldwork. The course is suitable for those with an interest in earthworms, and no experience of microscopes or earthworm identification is necessary (but please note that we will be working with dead specimens, which are essential for accurately identifying species). By the end of the weekend participants will:

• Have learnt about the natural history and different ecological roles of earthworms
• Understand what is known about current UK earthworm distribution, and why we need to know more
• Have had experience of field methods for collecting earthworms
• Be able to prepare specimens for investigation under the microscope
• Be able to use keys and microscopes to confirm earthworm species identification
• Know how to record earthworms to the standards of the national recording scheme.
• Know what to do to take their interest further.

Please note that this course will involve collecting and killing specimens for the purposes of identification and generating species records.   

For upcoming Identifying & Recording Earthworms residential courses, check out the upcoming events.