Blood consumption is scientifically called hematophagy. An organism that feeds partially or exclusively on blood is considered a hematophagous. the animals in question may seem mean, creepy, or even cruel, but they have adapted to feed on other creatures without killing them. Simply put, the loss of a small amount of blood is a far lesser evil than tearing apart an antelope. But along with animals, there are 10 people who are considered vampires.
10. Fleas
Along with various blood-feeding insects, fleas are the largest group of 100% hematophagous, with over 2,000 varieties that have adapted to live on the blood of mammals. Flexible, very dense, yet paper-thin bodies, ideal for quickly diving into thick fur, dodging the teeth or claws of the owner. Fleas do not have wings that would make their hosts less agile, which is compensated by incredibly jumping legs, and this allows them to jump over distances two hundred times the length of the spruce.
They start life as larvae that do not bite but feed on waste such as dead skin flakes, hair, feathers, or even their own parents' excrement. While most fleas are happy to eat and run around, there are some species known as "sucking fleas" that use a rather unpleasant way of feeding that is unique to females. So, the individual penetrates deep under the skin of the host, swells to the size of a pea, lays eggs and dies, remaining in place, which can lead to infection. Don't confuse fleas with ticks, which just don't make it to this list. Ticks are actually eight-legged arachnids, and quite large.
9. Bedbugs
concept "bug"originally referred only to insects of the genus Hemiptera, which includes:
- stink bugs,
- killer bugs,
- swimming beetles,
- aphids,
- cicadas and many others.
Most beetles are harmless, but known to everyone "bedbugs" are one of the few parasites. True to the name, these wingless creatures hide in bedding (such as mattresses and pillows) to feed on the blood of their hosts while they sleep. Extremely hardy, they quickly adapt to diseases and pesticides, making them extremely difficult to control.. They owe their inherent ability to quickly adapt, first of all, to the harsh method of reproduction; in order to mate, the male must cope with the large and hard body of the female, penetrating into her skeleton with his own sharp genitals, while she must be strong enough to survive this fight and lay eggs, that is, only the strongest individuals of both sexes will be able to transmit their genes. In some exotic species, the female has her own pointed phallus, making bed bug mating a brutal fencing battle.
8. Leeches
Having much in common with earthworms and other annelids, they can be found all over the world, both on land and in water. Most species of leeches are carnivores, prey on small invertebrates, or even feed on fish and frog eggs, but the famous blood-sucking leeches are armed with circular, saw-like teeth that, together with the anesthetic and anticoagulant contained in their saliva, allow a tiny painless incision to be made on the body. host and without problems to drink blood for hours.
In the dark times, it was believed that with the help of leeches, almost any disease could be cured by removing the excess "bad"of blood, and although it is now well known that this has nothing to do with reality, the benefits of sucking blood with leeches are of great interest to medical science today, moreover, leeches are successfully used to remove dangerous blood clots in newly sewn limbs. Being more complex organisms, leeches have multiple hearts, brains, and in some species entire clusters of tiny eyes can be found.Many species take care of the young generation by creating a protective cocoon around the eggs, which is constantly on the backs of the parents until the young can fend for themselves .
7 Vampire Moth
Most species of moths and butterflies either feed on nectar or don't eat at all, existing only to mate. Although, at least one species of moth uses a sharp proboscis to penetrate the skin of mammals and drink blood. As the host's blood flows through the mouth tube, tiny grooves form to rise and hook on the body until the meal is over.
Unlike mosquitoes, only the male vampire moth makes good use of this alternative source of energy, while the females of this species spend most of their time chilling while the males actively search for a mate to mate with.
6 Vampire Bats
The most famous of all bloodsuckers are most likely parasitic mammals, namely 3 varieties of vampire bats (family Desmodontidae) is native to North and South America. They are the only bats that have adapted to comfortably walk and even hop on the ground, allowing them to land near and sneak up on large sleeping animals.
Their teeth, thin and sharp as razors, make it possible to make a tiny incision on the victim's body almost painlessly, and thanks to the anticoagulants contained in saliva, the blood from the wound freely flows out and is licked by the animals. While almost all bats live in colonies, vampires are the only species of bats that care for each other's young and may even take "under the wing» an adopted child left without parents.
5. Lampreys
Once existed"jawless fish", which appeared millions of years ago on a planet where mollusks and other arthropods dominated before them. Today, only their ancestors exist, which are the mucus-consuming hagfishes (very fascinating creatures, but not hematophagous) and lampreys with a sucker-shaped mouth. Many types of lampreys are quite harmless, but among them there are some rather unpleasant parasites.
By sucking on other fish, they scrape off flesh until they get to blood or other bodily fluids, which can be detrimental to the host if it is not large enough to recover easily. Though lampreys appear primitive and disgusting, they are considered good mothers, migrating far to spawn and carefully laying rocks in their nests to protect their offspring.
4. Candiru
This tiny Amazonian relative of the catfish is infamous for spending time in the urethra of large mammals (like humans) stupid enough to urinate in river water. This is an accident on Candiru's conscience, since by mistake the stream of urine is perceived by these creatures as a stream of water from the gills of a larger fish.
Their slender, stunted bodies and tiny beards are specially adapted to live in full-blooded fish gills, where they use their tiny jaws to bite into a vessel and celebrate a fish party.
3. Torpedo snail
Perhaps the most atypical vampire is Cancellaria Cooperi is a species of sea snail that feeds almost exclusively on the blood of electric rays. True to its name, this stingray relative can produce up to 220 volts to paralyze both prey and predators, but parasites are another matter entirely.
Slow but persistent little snails can smell the slimy coating from a distance of several feet and use a long, thin tube to suck blood without causing the fish any pain or discomfort.
2 Vampire Finches
The Galapagos Islands are home to a huge number of small finches, which have adapted with their unusual beaks to the food sources of each individual island. Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis is the only bird known to regularly supplement its diet with fresh blood. This chaffinch shares a somewhat desolate patch of land with thousands of larger dupe birds that never even think of fighting back against the relatively small finches that peck horrible little holes in their bodies.
The theory has been put forward that the finches once pecked parasites off these birds so that they would develop the habit of ignoring painful stings for their own good. The finches that learned to drink blood from a wound as an additional beneficial supplement probably had a better chance of surviving when food on the island dwindled, so they slowly turned to vampirism when their victims didn't have much of a chance.
1. Flies
Diptera divided into thousands of known species. While most flies are harmless, cute little creatures that feed on nectar, useful nurses or predators of other insects, Diptera were able to find such ways of feeding as sucking blood, which had not been discovered by anyone in the animal kingdom before. Some females Culicidae – aka mosquitoes – use syringe-shaped mouthparts to take in the blood of mammals and transmit parasites that kill more people every year than all other natural forces combined.
Horseflies are a somewhat less perfect variety. Thus, with the help of blade-shaped parts of the body, they cut open flesh and drink the oozing blood. Bites of midges and mosquitoes may be too small to notice what is happening until their number exceeds a dozen. Of more interest are bloodsuckers or lice, some of which live their entire adult lives in the host's fur and do not even have wings.
There are even flies that lay blood-sucking larvae; these creeping reptiles take a cue from bedbugs and drink the blood of sleeping victims. The structure of the oral apparatus of such insects is similar to the structure of the oral apparatus of leeches. One has to wonder why we associate vampires with bats so closely, although many will agree that it would be more appropriate if Dracula turned into a buzzing insect with bug eyes.
