Blow lugworm
The Blow lugworm is a type of worm that is commonly seen on most coastal beaches in Britain. It is well known for its unusually shaped cast in the sand, which resembles a Walnut whip! Many people fear that stepping on the cast would kill the worm – but this is not true!
The Blow lungworm (Arencola marina) is about 20cm in length and has an unusual body shape. The worm’s body is fat at one end and has thirteen sets of red gills and thick hair, however, the other end of the worm is smooth and looks more like a regular earthworm.
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| Lugworm cast © Jezzdk |
The Blow lugworm lives in a U shaped burrow about 30cm under the sand. The cast (Walnut whip shaped sand deposit) it just the debris from the excavated tunnel. The lugworm eats sand particles, and any microorganisms and nutrients are digested as the sand passes through its gut.
The creature gets fresh oxygen by waiting until high tide. As the water passes over its burrow the worm pulsates its body to draw in fresh seawater and using its gills attains oxygen from the water.
The main predators of the Blow lugworm are birds especially the Curlew (a wading bird with a long curved bill). The worm is commonly used in the fishing industry as bait.
There is more than one species of lugworm in the UK. The Black lugworm (Arencola defodiens) has a different shaped burrow resembling a very neat Catherine wheel rather than the Blow lugworm whose cast resembles a Walnut whip!
