Pot Worms

Pot worms are a group of normally colorless terrestrial worms in the family enchytraeidae. The family is made up of microdrile oligochaetes living mainly in highly organic terrestrial environments. The term microdrile oligocates refers to their small size in combination with their resemblance to earthworms.

Taxonomy

Pot Worm Taxonomy

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
Animalia	Annelida	Clitellata	Tubificida	Enchitraeidae

Appearance

Diet

Similar to megadrile oligochaetes, earthworms, pot worms consume leafy matter and detritus. However, they gain most of their nutrients from consuming fungal hyphae and bacterial material along with excretions from other soil organisms. [1] This occurs because their smaller size makes it harder for them to consume detritus in the same way as earthworms are able to. Small fungal and bacterial materials are more easily consumed by these small annelids.

Ecosystem Impacts

Despite their small size, pot worms contribute to the alteration of soil structures. They serve to alter soil porosity due to burrowing activities. [1] They also produce worm castings mucus secretions which greatly improve the soil quality by influencing the bacterial and mineral content surrounding their burrows. This areas surrounding their burrows is referred to as the driloshpere.

References

Citations

1. “All about Enchytraeidae: White Pot Worms.” A Chaos of Delight , https://www.chaosofdelight.org/enchytraeidae-1.