CreatureData

White worm

Octolasion lacteum (Örley, 1881)

Status not recordedworms

The white worm (Octolasion lacteum) is a species in the family Lumbricidae, order Crassiclitellata.

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Quick facts about the white worm

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the white worm live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the white worm as introduced in 1 country.

  1. South Africa

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the white worm endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the white worm classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumAnnelida
  3. classClitellata
  4. orderCrassiclitellata
  5. familyLumbricidae
  6. genusOctolasion
  7. SpeciesOctolasion lacteum (Örley, 1881)

Synonyms Allolobophora profuga, Lumbricus lacteus, Lumbricus terrestris lacteus, Lumbricus terrestris var. lacteum, Octodrilus hemiander, Octodrilus hemiandrus, Octolasion tyrtaeum, Octolasium complanatum hemiandrum, Octolasium hemiandrum, Octolasium lacteum

Other names and names in other languages (11)
  • žížala mléčnáCzech
  • Mælket ormDanish
  • Großer AckerwurmGerman
  • harmaalieroFinnish
  • Pilkasis sliekasLithuanian
  • hvitmeitemarkNorwegian Bokmål
  • Grauwe geelstaartwormDutch
  • mjølkekvit meitemakkNorwegian Nynorsk
  • Молочный октолазийRussian
  • dážďovka mliečnaSlovak
  • gråskär daggmaskSwedish

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the white worm

Other species in the same genus Octolasion.

CompareWhite worm vs Blue-grey wormWhite worm vs Woodland white wormWhite worm vs Octolasion lacteovicinumWhite worm vs Octolasion montanum

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the white worm an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the white worm as introduced in 1 country: South Africa, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the white worm?

The white worm (Octolasion lacteum) belongs to the family Lumbricidae in the order Crassiclitellata.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). White worm (Octolasion lacteum). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-worm

MLA

“White worm (Octolasion lacteum).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-worm.

BibTeX
@misc{white_worm_2026,
  title = {White worm (Octolasion lacteum)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-worm},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}