1. Leeches:
Starring in the 2003 horror movie 'Leeches', directed by David DeCoteau,
Leeches have been known to inhabit freshwater environments, while some
species can be found in terrestrial and marine environments. You can
never see a movie filmed in the Jungle without these guys showing up in
the plot. Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. The most fascinating characteristic of these creatures is their thirst for blood. Although, only some species of leeches feed on blood, and not all species can bite; 90% of them feed solely on decomposing bodies and open wounds of amphibians, reptiles, waterfowl, fish, and mammals.
To feed on their hosts, leeches use their anterior suckers to connect to hosts for feeding. Once attached, leeches use a combination of mucus and suction to stay attached and secrete an anticoagulant enzyme, hirudin, into the hosts' blood streams. The most popular species, Hirudo medicinalis,
are used medically to treat medical conditions that cause an
obstruction in blood flow. Funny enough, a lot of people pay huge money
for Leech-therapy where leeches are placed on the body and allowed to
feed indirectly increasing blood circulation in the body. Cool uhhnn?
2. Female Mosquitoes:
One
of the hardcore enemies of colonialism in Africa, Mosquitoes have
somehow become the most annoying creatures on earth not just because
they feed on blood but because they cause one of the most deadly
diseases know to mankind (Malaria) and try all they can to ensure you do
not have a good night sleep with their incessant 'singing' in your ears. In 2015, there were roughly 214 million malaria cases and an estimated 438,000 malaria deaths.
Thankfully, not all Mosquitoes require blood. Only female mosquitoes take blood. They use the protein and iron found in blood to make their eggs. Naturally, female mosquitoes feed on nectar and water,
just like the males. So don't be harsh on them when next they try
feeding on you. The question I've always asked myself is, are there are
any ecological benefits Mosquitoes provide? If you know the answer,
please share it in the comments below.
3. Vampire bats:
We
cannot talk about blood-thirsty creatures without including Vampire
Bats. These guys are like the kingpins of the blood-sucking empire and
they have starred multiple times in many of the greatest Vampire movies
in history. They even have a DC superhero named after them, but
what do you really know about Vampire bats? Well, for starters, Vampire
bats don't fly around feeding and killing humans at night, they don't go
up in flames in sunlight; and NO, They don't have the ability to transform into humans.
Vampire bats are bats whose food source is blood, a dietary trait called hematophagy. There are just three bat species that feed solely on blood: the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), the hairy-legged vampire bat (Diphylla ecaudata), and the white-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi).
All three species are native to the Americas, ranging from Mexico to
Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. Vampire bats hunt only when it is
fully dark.. Vampire bats feed mostly on the blood of mammals (ehh...occasionally humans),
whereas both the hairy-legged vampire bat and white-winged vampire bat
feed on the blood of birds. The bat’s saliva, left in the victim's
resulting bite wound, contains several compounds that prolong bleeding,
repair of damaged vessels and prevent clotting.
4. The Tick:
Call them Enemies of
our pets if you want to, Ticks are tiny ectoparasites that belong to
the same family as Mites and they feed on the blood of mammals, birds,
and sometimes reptiles and amphibians. Do not let their size deceive
you, these creatures have been found to be vectors of a number of
diseases that affect both humans and other animals.
They
cause discomfort to our Dogs and Cats, attaching themselves to the skin
and hair follicle, and sucking blood, causing itchiness and a range of
Tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease, Q fever, Colorado tick fever,
Rocky Mountain spotted fever, African tick bite fever, Crimean-Congo
hemorrhagic fever, tularemia, tick-borne relapsing fever, babesiosis,
ehrlichiosis, and tick-borne meningoencephalitis. That is quite a lot
from this tiny guy.
5. Bed bugs:
The name 'bed bug'
actually says it all. It was derived from the fact that these tiny
creatures prefer living in warm houses and especially near or inside beds and bedding
or other sleep areas. Bedbugs are small, brownish insects that live on
the blood of animals or humans. Adult bedbugs have flat bodies but their
bodies swell, having a reddish hue after feeding. Fortunately for us,
bedbugs do not fly, but they can move quickly over your beds, floors,
walls, and ceilings. Bed bugs are nocturnal and are mainly active at
night but you can still find them feeding during the day. Under
favourable conditions, the bugs can mature into a full-blown adult in
just a month and produce three or more generations per year. Though they
are a big nuisance, but unlike their tick friends, they do not transmit
diseases.
6. Assassin bugs:
When I first heard that name 'Assassin Bug',
the first thing that came to mind was the popular Video game,
Assassin's creed. Assassin bugs (or kissing bugs) get their names from
their habit of biting humans on the face near the lips. Kissing bugs are
found all across the bottom two-thirds of the United States, and
predominantly in Arizona, California, Texas, and New Mexico. Once only
found in tropical regions further south, climate change and global
warming have since pushed them further north.
They
are largely dark brown or black and may have red dots on each side of
their broad, flat backs. Like their other annoying blood-sucking
friends, these bugs not only bite, but their bites spread the parasite that causes Chagas disease, a disorder that does damage to major organs and can be fatal. So stay away from these Assassins as much as you can.
7. Candiru:
I call this the most disgusting fish on the planet. Quite a big title for a fish that measures only about the size of a matchstick or toothpick, hence they are popularly called toothpick fish. This tiny fish inhabits the Amazon (known to be home to a lot of weird creatures) and Orinoco basins
of lowland Amazonia, where they constitute part of the Neotropical fish
fauna. Candirus feed on blood to survive and parasitize the gills of larger Amazonian fishes, especially catfish. Some
native people of the area where this fish is found have given an
account of how they propel themselves at fast speeds into the urethra of
men who go to the river to bath. Acting as bullets, they make their way
to blood vessels to feed on blood. If that does not disgust you, I
don't know what will. Well, to date, there is only one documented case of a candiru entering a human urethra, which took place in Itacoatiara, Brazil in 1997.
A 23-year-old man claimed a candiru "leapt"
out of the water into his urethra as he urinated while thigh-deep in a
river. After travelling to Manaus on October 28, 1997, the victim
underwent a two-hour urological surgery by Dr Anoar Samad to remove the fish from his body.
8. Madrilenial Butterfly:
Butterflies
are really beautiful creatures, but when they start to feed on blood,
that kills every single atom of beauty they have. The Madrilenial
Butterfly actually does feed on fruits and nectar like every other normal butterfly,
but they simply got tired of this and started to feed on blood also.
Good news is that the Madrilenial Butterfly is found mostly in Spain and
it only sucks the blood of dead carcases. Of course, this one type of
butterfly isn’t going to chase you around, take you down and feast on
your blood, but it’s still food for thought.
9. Vampire Finches:
Just when you thought this list couldn't get any weirder than it already is. A bird that sucks blood too? The vampire finch, also known as Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis, is a small bird native to the Galápagos Islands.
This bird is most famous for its unusual diet. The vampire finch
occasionally feeds by drinking the blood of other birds. It does this by
pecking at their skin with their sharp beaks until blood is drawn.
Well,
the vampire finch is endangered, being a small-island endemic. So you
can't go around hunting them down. Good thing is that there are no known
attacks on humans, so no cause for alarm.
10. The Flea:
So
whether you believe Vampires exist or not, my advice is that you avoid
an encounter with any of these creatures especially those that spread
diseases and parasites. They are the 10 Bloodsuckers of the Animal
Kingdom. Many of these animals will definitely give the great Count. Dracula
a run for his money. Thanks for reading, share your thoughts in the
comment below and don't hesitate to share this with your friends using
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