50 Cocoon Challenge – Update #2

Decomposition continues in the 50 cocoon challenge bin

Here we are, another couple of weeks since my last 50 Cocoon Challenge update, so I figured I had better sneak a peek in the bin (actually did so yesterday) to see what’s going on.

It certainly looks as though the contents of the bin have continued to decompose nicely, with fungi still playing a pretty major role in the process.

What was once paper towel is now home to bizarre fungi

While I wasn’t greeted by a thick cloud of gnats when I opened the bin (like last time), they are certainly still there. As you can see in the next picture, the tiny mites are still there as well

Loads of tiny mites still coat the lid of the 50 Cocoon bin

Of course, the big question on everyone’s mind is whether or not there are worms yet. I’m happy to report that I did in fact find quite a few baby worms! Interestingly enough, I wasn’t actually able to locate ANY cocoons – this is not to say they’ve all hatched, but my guess is that a fair number have.

The biggest worm I found was probably about 1 inch in length, and there seemed to be a fairly wide range of sizes between this and the ‘newborn’ stage. The really small ones are still quite difficult to spot, so I suspect it will take some time before I can get a better idea of how many worms are now in the system.

Baby worms! Whoohoo!

I’m really excited that we now have worms, and can’t wait to see how quickly they develop into adults. On that note, I suspect I’ll need to monitor the bin a lot more frequently now just to make sure I know when the first worm matures.

Stay tuned!

Previous 50 Cocoon Challenge Posts
The 50 Cocoon Challenge
50 Cocoon Challenge – Update #1

Written by Bentley on June 25th, 2009 with 3 comments.
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