Leeches can’t hear, and they don’t see much And although the science is still a little fuzzy, researchers in Germany are also using leeches to help with the pain of osteoarthritis.ħ. Instead, doctors use leeches and their blood-clot-busting saliva to help drain blood from swollen areas following reconstructive surgery-especially small areas with lots of blood vessels like ears, fingers, and toes, where blood clots can easily form. No, not for old-fashioned bloodletting-that went out of style with the corset and the bustle. Fortunately, most of the species found in Canada aren’t quite so horrifyingly massive-the bloodsucking species we’re familiar with, Macrobdella decora, only grows up to 10 cm or so. One species found in the Amazon can grow up to 45 centimetres long-with a proboscis (nose) that can grow up to half a foot in length. Leeches are found on pretty much every continent-and while there are no freshwater leeches in Antarctica, you can find the little suckers floating in every ocean in the world. You’re never going to escape them, so you might as well learn to appreciate them. Not quite a romantic weekend in Niagara Falls, but it does the trick. Instead, leeches line themselves up, head to feet-or as close as a leech gets to a head, or feet-and trade sperm packets. Leeches have both male and female reproductive organs, but that doesn’t mean they can do it all themselves, fertilization-wise. But hey-a meal’s a meal, and if someone’s ankle presents itself, it’s nom time. Even those that do drink blood aren’t actively looking for human blood-they prefer frogs, snails, turtles, and other aquatic creatures. Many freshwater leeches, in fact, don’t eat blood at all-they’re carnivores, but they stick to molluscs, insect larvae, and worms. But, like earthworms, leeches make great bait, especially for walleye.īlood-eating leeches are only one type, although they’re the ones we most often notice, mostly as we’re dancing around trying to rip them off our legs. Plus, there’s that whole bloodsucking thing. Leeches’ bodies are much more solid than earthworms’, and while they show some external segmentation, the divisions on the outside don’t match up with how organs are arranged on the inside. Leeches have a lot in common with your everyday earthworm-but there are some important differences. Here are a few things you might not have know about these creepy crawlies. They get a bad reputation for being nothing but slimy, oozy, hysterics-worthy bloodsuckers-and while they may be all those things, leeches are actually pretty cool once you get to know them.įrom a distance.
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