Leeches have two mouths, but feed only on the front. In the types of jaw, we can find teeth on both sides. Both sides of the outlets are located not only for power supply but also for travel.
This happens by biting the surface on which it moves with its face and then repeating with its back to move again and again.
Leeches are able to swim, especially using clear and shallow waters.
The leech feeds on liquid food, and the blood from the animals is not enough. While still in the cocoon, embryos feed on coconut organic matter, babies and young leeches feed on aquatic plant mucus, unicellular cilia, aquatic insect larvae, worms and small shells.
Adult leeches feed on blood, as their teeth can now penetrate the skin as well as the hard skin of all animal species. Leeches are extremely greedy and can drink blood even when their stomachs are filled with undigested blood. If they are not fed, the hungry leech weakens quickly. After consumption, leeches can process blood for several months.
Green blood
Blood color is hardly the strangest thing about leeches, but in many species it is green. The main protein in our blood is hemoglobin. In many leeches, the chlorochruorin protein is the dominant protein. This protein causes a greenish color. The blood turns darker green when it is rich in oxygen.
I'm not the only one with this blood color.
Some sea worms also have green blood, while others, such as fine-feathered worms, have purple blood. Horseshoe crabs have blue blood, which is extremely important in modern medicine.
As much as I can suck
We are all familiar with the old medical practice of leeches. Thinking about them, we can easily return to the place where the purpose of the drug was to take it directly. We are talking about times when barbers performed surgeries, and doctors thought they were made up of bile and phlegm.
Are leeches insatiable?
Almost every animal or insect that drinks blood gets a bad name. Of the 700 species of leeches, the vast majority drink blood. However, they are hardly vicious animals. Some species are even complete vegans - they eat rotten plants.
Others do not fall into any category. The red worm feeds on its prey, swallowing it whole:
Leeches are usually shy with people. It can even be difficult to get a leech to bite you. He prefers to attack undisturbed. If you pick one and put it on yourself, it's likely to move in the same direction as long as it bites you. In addition, their main target is usually frogs and other amphibians. Of course, it would not deviate from the mammals they are capable of.
Details about the food process
If you are bitten by a leech, you may not even feel it. Relatively invisible. Leeches are water ninjas, sneaking into unexpected prey. By contact with the subject, it secretes anesthetics and anticoagulants into the body while sucking blood.
The anesthetic prevents you from feeling pain, which is why people often do not notice that they are bitten. And anticoagulants keep bleeding so they don't clot. Moreover, without anticoagulants in the leech system, the spilled blood would have coagulated in them.
The reason for noticing a leech while eating is that it takes a long time to process. It often takes 20 to 40 minutes. If you see a leech, you can remove it. It does not enter your body and leaves no traces of your incisors, so removal is not painful or risky. The anticoagulant prevents the wound from closing, but it is small.
Could it be dangerous to have a leech?
A leech would not be a danger. The only concern would be the rare cases in which someone is allergic to the bite. Even then, the consequences are usually not severe.
You can leave it safe to feed and even take a picture. Different types can be distinguished by color and movement. Follow who knows, maybe you've discovered a new species.
The biggest concern you may have is that the wound is not infected by anything on the side. Especially if you're outdoors. Even after a long feeding session, leeches take about 5-15 ml of blood, depending on their size. So one is far from the fatal end.