Hopkins and Kirk (1957) estimated the 96-hour LD. of Eisenia 
foetida, exposed to chlordane, to be 100 1b/6-in A. Exposure was in soil 
mixed with 5% chlordane dust at rates of 32, 64, 128, and 256 1b/A; 
observations extended over 4 days. 
Doane (1962) found that 10 1b/A of chlordane applied to a sandy 
soil as either granules or emulsion spray reduced earthworm cast numbers 
to zero after 18 months. Both Lumbricus terrestris and Allolobophora 
caliginosa were present before treatment. 
DDT 
In one of the early reports on the effects of DDT on earthworms, 
Fleming and Hadley (1945) stated that 100 1b/A of 2.5% DDT dust (presumably 
2.5 1b/A actual toxicant) had no apparent effect on Pheretima hupeiensis 
on golf greens, Greenwood (1945), in a trial incidental to other work, 
placed 8 earthworms in a pot of soil containing about 100 1b/A of DDT; the 
worms behaved normally for 14-16 days, then began to show symptoms of 
toxicity, and all died within a month. Eight other worms in untreated 
soil remained alive and healthy. Baker (1946) recorded reduced earthworm 
activity the spring following treatment of an elm grove with a 0.25% DDT 
emulsion at an unspecified rate per.acre. 
Richards and Cutkomp (1946) included earthworms (Lumbricus 
terrestris) in studies they made to determine if there was a correlation 
between sensitivity to DDT and the possession (or lack) of a chitinous 
cutiélg. The worms showed no ill effects from immersion in colloidal 
suspensions of DDT in water when the DDT was present at concentrations 
of 10 ppm and 100 ppm. No attempt was made to convert this resistance 
to DDT levels encountered in field applications. 
Rodale (1948) stated that DDT was instant death to earthworms, 
but did not provide supporting data. 
Goffart (1949) found that earthworms were not affected by soil 
media containing one part of DDT in 500 (2,000 ppm). 
Fleming and Hawley (1950) reported that DDT at 25 1b/A had no 
effect on earthworms. Earthworm species were not identified. The DDT, 
in the form of a 10% dust, was applied by mechanical spreaders in a 
test for control of Japanese beetles. 
Polivka (1951) rechecked earthworm populations in plots treated 
with DDT dust 5 years earlier and found no significant reduction on plots 
treated with less than 37.5 1b/A. In another series of plots treated at 
12.5 and 25 1b/A, he found no effects on earthworms after 42 months 
(Polivka, 1953). In another series of plots treated with DDT at 25 1b/A, 
effects on earthworms were not significant after 5 years, but were signifi- 
cant in the 6th year (Polivka, 1953}. Sampling errors in these studies 
may have accounted for the inconsistent results. 
9 
