Bamboo worm

Back in 1984, Britton called my attention to the existence of a new hallucinogen, unusual because its source is an insect. The extinct Malalis natives of eastern Brazil once regarded the bicho de tacuara (bamboo worm) as a special culinary treat that tasted like sweet cream. The small creatures are found in bamboo stems. 

The bamboo worm (Clymenella) is aptly named, as it looks very much like a 4-inch (10-cm) length of bamboo. The body is made up of a small number of long segments with very few parapodia. Bamboo worms build sand- or mud-encrusted tubes and consume mud to obtain nutrients. 

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