Having a common ancestor earthworms have eventually taken a variety of natural niches by performing their own tasks. Some of them process vegetable and animal remains on the surface of the soil and, in fact, they are adapted to living in a nutritional environment. The compost worms find “a table and a house" in a pile of leaves, manure or other organic matter. They are able to live only in this environment. They have exemplary appetite and are very prolific. However, they cannot crawl into the soil. The transition from the compost to the soil drastically changes the nature of the food. The digestive tract of worms is not used to it. This group of worms is called "epigeic worms" which is translated from Greek as ‘terrestrial’.

Other worms have adapted to live in a shallow depth. They convert organic matters,as well as  loosen, structure and mix the soil in the surface layer. They are also very attracted to waste products (coprolites) of composting worms. When the composting worms actively work in the soil surface, the number of ground-worms (anecics) at a shallow depth, which loosen the soil, sharply increases too. There are also worms that preferre to dwell deep into the soil and do their part by recycling organic matters. These worms are called ‘Endogeic worms ‘(underground worms). The summer is short in the middle belt therefore the timing for the active work of worms and microorganisms in the soil surface is insufficient for complete deep processing of dying organic matters. Thus, the accumulation of humus in the soil is a very long process.

Adding manure into the soil is not the way to a reasonable fertilization of the soil. Along with nourishing plant materials we bring into the soil millions of weed seeds, insect eggs, and many pathogenic bacteria and fungi. And worms are powerless to help. Epigeics are not attracted to thinly scattered or buried into the soil fodder. The anecic worms are not able to creep into the lumps of manure or into other organic matters; their environment is the soil which is equally enriched in organic matters by microorganisms.

Technological ‘elite’ worms differ from ordinary ones by enviable appetite and by extraordinary fecundity. In addition, they are able to quickly adapt to new kinds of fodder. The idea to domesticate the worm was originated in America for over 50 years ago. The Red Californian worm is capable of working successfully here. However, the worms of local populations are much better suited to our micro-organisms, pesticides and other components of the organic waste. In particular, a population of worms with unique properties has been derived in 1982 at the Department of Biologyof Vladimir State Pedagogical University, as a result of selection of the South worm (Tchuiskiy) and of the North worm (Vladimirskiy). For its activity, endurance, fertility and omnivorousity the Vladimirskiy hybrid was named as ‘Staratel’(translates from Russian as  ‘prospector’) which became the trademark of a unique earthworm.