Reproduction involves mass spawning at night in spring or early summer (October – November in the Southern Hemisphere).

[6] In Fiji, the palolo worms' rising is preceded by the descent of a local red land crab to the sea the same night.

[14] During their short-lived annual appearance in the last quarter of the moon in October and November or in February (Lombok, Indonesia),[3] [15] worms are gathered with nets or buckets, and are either eaten raw or cooked in several different ways.

In Samoa, the worms are revered as an excellent food source, hunting for them taking place seven days after the first full moon in October.

The palolo harvest is part of the culture and tradition of Samoans, where the feast is shared with family and relatives, but in recent years has been sold in the markets of Apia and Salelologa for more than A$100 per kilogram.