Leeches - Life (48 photos)

The long-awaited report from the leech farm. You will learn how leeches live in captivity, what they eat, and how they reproduce. For the first time, we were able to capture unique footage of the birth of a leech in natural conditions and in captivity.

Five pairs of eyes intensely watched the water column, all senses aimed at finding the victim. For more than three weeks now, in search of food, they have had to move from one corner of the reservoir to another. Even repeated forays onto land did not bring the desired result. Sad thoughts overwhelmed the vampire. Blood and only blood... “Okay, you can hold out for another three months, but if luck doesn’t smile, you’ll have to emigrate to a nearby body of water; they say that cattle come there to drink...” There was a splash somewhere, another, a third - the steel muscles tensed. The vampire identified the source of the vibrations and, with smooth wave-like movements, directed his body towards the victim. Here she is! Light, warm body, and so little fur, just not to miss. The vampire straightened his huge mouth, exposed three terrible jaws with sharp teeth and bit into the victim... A heartbreaking cry filled the water surface of the reservoir.

01.

02. Today we will tell you about the International Center for Medical Leeches, created on the basis of the Medpiyavka association formed in 1937, which was engaged in keeping leeches in artificial ponds in the dacha village of Udelnaya (Moscow region).

03. At 2500 sq. m. there are production facilities for growing more than 3,500,000 medicinal leeches and producing cosmetic products.

04. In total, science knows 400 species of leeches, which look approximately the same and differ mainly in color. Leeches are black, greenish or brownish. The Russian name for these nimble worms indicates their ability to “bite” into the victim’s body and suck out blood.

05. Leeches live in three-liter jars. They couldn’t come up with anything better as a house for them. The leechkeeper must ensure that the vessel with leeches is constantly covered with a thick white cloth, which is tied tightly.

06. Leeches are unusually mobile and often tend to crawl out of the water. Therefore, they are able to easily leave the container in which they are stored. Escapes occur periodically.

07. A leech has 10 eyes, but the leech does not perceive a complete image. Despite the seeming primitiveness of the sensory perception of leeches, they are excellent at orienting themselves in space. Their sense of smell, taste and touch are unusually developed, which contributes to their success in finding prey. First of all, leeches respond well to odors emanating from objects immersed in water. Leeches cannot tolerate foul-smelling water.

08. Slow, devoid of sharpness movements allow you to see the entire body of the leech. On the back, against a dark background, bright orange inclusions form a bizarre pattern in the form of two stripes. On the sides there is black edging. The abdomen is delicate, light olive in color with a black edging. The body of an ordinary medicinal leech consists of 102 rings. On the dorsal side the rings are covered with many small papillae. On the ventral side there are much fewer papillae and they are less noticeable.

09. But behind the harmless external beauty of the leech lies its secret weapon - the front sucker, outwardly invisible. The large, intimidating rear sucker does not cause any physical damage, but in the depths of the front jaws are hidden, geometrically located according to the sign of the prestigious company of the automotive world - Mercedes. There are up to 90 teeth in each jaw, for a total of 270. This is deceit.

10. The record for the maximum size of a leech grown in this center is 35 centimeters in length. The leech in the photo still has everything ahead.

11. A leech bit me like a nettle stung. The bite of the same horsefly or ant is much more painful. Leech saliva contains painkillers (analgesics). The leech feeds exclusively on blood. Hematophage, that is, a vampire.

12. The epidermal layer of the leech is covered with a special film - cuticle. The cuticle is transparent, it performs a protective function and continuously grows, periodically being renewed during the molting process. Normally, leeches moult every 2-3 days.

13. Discarded films resemble white flakes or small white covers. They clog the bottom of the vessels for storing used leeches, and therefore must be removed regularly, and the water is also periodically colored from digestion products. The water is changed twice a week.

14. The water is specially prepared: it sits for at least a day, and is purified from harmful impurities and heavy metals. After cleaning and passing control, the water is heated to the required temperature and enters the common network for leeches.

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16. Leeches poop up to several times a day, so the water in the vessel where used leeches are stored periodically becomes colored. Clogging of water that occurs from time to time does not cause any harm to leeches if the water is regularly changed.

17. The most important condition for the rapid cultivation of full-fledged medicinal leeches is their regular feeding with fresh blood, which is purchased from slaughterhouses.

18. Large clots formed during coagulation of blood mass are used. To fully feed leeches, only the blood of healthy animals, mainly large and small livestock, is taken. The clots are placed at the bottom of special vessels, into which the leeches are then released.

19. To make it pleasant for leeches to eat, a film is laid on them, which they, out of habit, bite through and suck blood.

20. During growth, the leech feeds every one and a half to two months.

21. After the leeches have grown and fasted for at least three months, they are collected in series and sent for certification, and then they go on sale or are used in the production of cosmetics. The Center has an accredited laboratory of the quality control department. But more about this tomorrow.

22. During one feeding, a leech sucks out five times its own weight, after which it may not eat for three to four months, or a maximum of a year. After eating, the leech looks like a solid muscle sac filled with blood. In its digestive tract there are special substances that protect blood from putrefaction, which preserve it in such a way that the blood always remains full and is stored for a long time.

23. A leech usually eats its fill in 15-20 minutes. A sign that the leech is full is the appearance of foam.

24. Well-fed leeches are trying to escape from the “dining room”.

25. Yum-yum!

26. After feeding, the leeches are washed.

27. And put it back in the jar.

28.

29. And the dishes are washed.

thirty.

31. Leeches communicate with each other extremely rarely, only during the mating period. And then, most likely, out of necessity, so as not to die out. Suitable for reproduction, that is, carefully fed and reaching a given size, leeches are called queens.

32. They are placed in pairs in jars filled with water and stored in special rooms where the optimal environmental temperature is maintained to maintain the activity of leeches and their reproductive abilities. Copulation and laying of cocoons with eggs occur in leeches at an environmental temperature of 25 to 27 °C. And although each individual carries within itself both the male and female principles (hermaphrodites), it cannot satisfy itself in this intimate matter and is looking for a partner.

33. The mating season, during which mating occurs, takes about 1 month, after which the leeches are placed in queen cells - three-liter jars. Moist peat soil is placed at the bottom of the queen cell, providing a favorable environment for medicinal leeches and their cocoons. On top of the peat are soft moss turfs that regulate soil moisture. The queens move freely on the moss, in which they feel comfortable, and gradually burrow into the peat.

34. Leeches practice different positions in which copulation occurs. There are 2 main positions that have a biological meaning. First position: the anterior ends of the bodies of copulating leeches are directed in one direction. The second main position: the ends of the bodies are oppositely directed, that is, they look in different directions.

35. The peat is thoroughly washed so that the leeches are moist and comfortable.

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37. You can identify a pregnant leech by the light rings and place it in a jar of peat.

38. Breaking a shallow hole in the soil, the leech lays a cocoon in it, from which filaments are subsequently hatched - this is what the leech breeders of small young leeches are called. Their mass reaches 0.03 g at most, and their body length is 7-8 mm. The filaments are fed in the same way as adults.

39. Each mother leech lays an average of 3-5 cocoons, each of which contains 10-15 fry.

40. After a while, the cocoons become like soft foam balls.

41. In the light you can see that the fry are sitting inside the cocoon.

42. And here are unique shots of the birth. The leech leaves the cocoon through a hole in the end.

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44. The first minutes of life of a small leech.

45. And this is how they are born in the conditions of the center. The cocoons are simply torn apart.

46. In the center, a leech lives for a year and a half, then it is given away to treat people or processed into cosmetics.