Bloodworms

The term “bloodworm” has been used to describe a number of different types of worms. No doubt the intense blood red colour of the sword utility-worm (AN11) is worthy of the name. But the term has traditionally been used as a common name for the Family Glyceridae. The red flesh colour of bloodworms may not always appear as vibrant as that in some utility-worms, but species from both families have copious amounts of hemoglobin in their blood. Regardless, the term “bloodworm” generally applies to the blood-red glycerid worm. At least two other explanations exist as well: the blood drawn from a human after a nasty bite to the arm—“bait digger’s arm,” or the blood flowing from a severed worm in the process of bring extracted from its burrow. Some of the larger bloodworm species in the world have been valued sport and commercial bait since the early 19th century.