Large colonies of immature blow lug are often found in nursery areas near the top of a beach. They live in U-shaped burrows and their casts are often large unordered piles accompanied by a noticeable round depression in the sand. Colouration can vary greatly, but dark red and pink worms are common, while in some areas and on certain shorelines blow lug can also be dark brown and even black.īlows are much smaller than blacks as a rule, rarely exceeding 20cm. They are often present in large colonies and are normally easy to dig, as they do not burrow too deeply. Blow and Black Lugīlow lug are commonly found on the upper and mid reaches of a beach. The thinner abdominal part of the animal has no bristles or gills.
The top, thicker thoracic part of the body has bristles known as chaetae, with the last thirteen segments also having feathery gills. All of these lugworms have segmented, cylindrical bodies which have two distinct regions. At a seminar at Dove Marine Laboratory, Tyneside a few years ago I was informed that there are at least another two types or sub-species of lugworm present around our shoreline. Anglers know these two lugworm species as blow lug ( Arenicola marina), and black lug ( Arenicola defodiens). In 1993 researchers from Swansea University recognised what anglers have long known and reclassified Arenicola to include a new species known as Arenicola defodiens. Lugworm are extremely common around the British Isles but reference books often wrongly describe a single species: Arenicola marina, or the common lugworm. Here Steve Walker delves into the world of ‘blows’, ‘blacks’ and ‘yellowtails’. 11.8K Lugworm is without doubt the king of worm baits.
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