Tube Worm Casings

Masses of tubeworm casings often wash ashore in the spring and summer.

These casings, produced by the Cellophane Worm (Spichaetopterus costarum), often wash ashore in masses during the spring and summer months along the Oregon Coast.

Living just below the low tide line of sandy beaches, Cellophane Worms build and inhabit these seemingly plastic “tubes”, which become encrusted with sand. Currents and upwellings bring these tubes to the surface, eventually distributing them onto shore.