The worms attached to the lip of this crank
bait are midge larvae, commonly called bloodworms for obvious reasons.
Members of the Chironomid family, these larvae contain hemoglobin
which stores oxygen within their bodies making it possible for them
to exist for some time in environments with very little or no oxygen.
For this reason, bloodworms are able to live in lake bottoms which are
organically enriched and/or highly polluted. They are very common, and
generally important, in sewage oxidation lagoons. Bloodworms are fed
upon by various species of fish including sunfish, yellow perch and
walleyes. In a documented feeding behavior, yellow perch actually enter
into anoxic lake bottoms and feed on these midge larvae for short periods
of time despite the lack of dissolved oxygen. "Big Thanks" to the IL
Dept. of Natural Resources for this information. 12/10/2001
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