![]() See how delicately the Bug Lady phrased that? Some leech species put their eggs in a sac and leave the sac in a damp area others attach the sac to their ventral (underneath) side and carry it around until the eggs hatch. Each individual has both eggs and sperm, and when they “exchange bodily fluids” (through openings on the 11th and 12th segments) they fertilize each other. Leeches are hermaphroditic (having characteristics of both genders). Some species can wait a year or more between feedings. Leeches that feed on small invertebrates may swallow their prey whole, extract the bodily fluids, and spit out the crunchy-bits. ![]() The Horse leech lives in watering troughs, awaiting thirsty livestock. Like sharks, they zero in on prey that splashes around in/disturbs the water (pond-swimmers take note). This guy/gal is one of the Macrobdella leeches, which feed on the blood of vertebrates (plus the odd frog egg or aquatic insect larva), and which can grow up to be at least 6” long. ![]() “Leech” was once a synonym for “Physician” because of the leeches that doctors used in their practice.Īlthough some species are scavengers, most leeches suck blood, often specializing in one group, like invertebrates or frogs or fish. Leeches are making a come-back in medical practice, especially in reattachment surgeries, and modern science has confirmed beneficial, long-term effects of leech therapy. When they bite, they inject both a painkiller and an anticoagulant and may suck out five times their weight in blood. The “business end,” the mouth, is located within the front sucker. Many are graceful swimmers, with undulating locomotion. Sometimes they travel along on the underside of the surface film, like up-side-down inchworms, hanging on to that sticky, top layer of water molecules with suckers located at each end. Their bodies are soft but very “buff” and muscular. Unlike their mostly terrestrial cousins the earthworms, leeches are flattened in cross section. There are eyespots along the dorsal (top) side of the first few segments. The Bug Lady loves trivia-one of her offspring calls her an “esoterrorist”). Leeches are in the phylum Annelida ( segmented worms) (in the case of leeches, that’s 34 segments. Leeches like quiet, sun-warmed ponds with plant debris on the bottom, and, because you thought it was safe to go back into the water, a healthy leech habitat may support as many as 7,000 leeches per square meter (so it’s a good thing we don’t use the metric system here). Recently, when the Bug Lady was nosing around the Bentley Pond at Riveredge Nature Center, she saw lots of leeches swimming through the pond weeds. People may not recall the characters’ names or whether he stopped drinking or she started or whether the boat went over Victoria Falls or even who won WWI, but they can ALWAYS describe the leech scene). If you notice excessive redness or blister at the bite site, get it checked.OK, we’re having an “African Queen” moment (a great movie, in case you youngsters haven’t seen it. In your case, the leech has most likely dropped off and there should not be a cause of concern. Rarely get they infected or leech can bite in areas like nose, eyeball or internal organs. Leech bites are quite harmless although annoying in majority of causes. Related: What should be done if a spider bites you?įirst aid involves cleaning the wound with antiseptic and dressing it, cold compresses. It is best to push the leech sideward from its head (narrow) end with the help of fingernails and then remove it. These contain bacteria and can cause secondary wound infection. In most cases, people may try to remove it with a lit cigarette but this is not advisable as this causes the leech to regurgitate the contents of its gut into the bite. If a leech is forcibly removed by pulling it, its teeth can remain embedded in the wound and cause local irritation. Most people can have a local irritation at the wound site. These bites are not associated with any major problems. Most leech bites ooze for a long time since leech inject a substance called hirudin which prevent blood from clotting. So you may not have seen the leech there. With the result,they become so heavy that they fall off the bite area. Then they suck blood, which is almost five times their own body weight. Leech attaches to the skin and first injects a substance, which works like a local anaesthetic and a person stops feeling the bite. The affected area was bleeding continuously and after bleeding, I developed a small bulge. Yesterday, a leech bit me on my leg, which I realised after half an hour.
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