Leeches are representatives of the class of annelid worms, which include small-bristle worms, multi-bristle, misostomids and leeches. The most famous representative of all is the earthworm. Of the existing 500 species of leeches, only 62 are found in Russia. However, only a special class of leeches is used for medicinal purposes, the reproduction of which is carried out on specialized farms. It is about a medical form. The article offers detailed information about these animals.
General information
The Russian name for leeches comes from the word "dig in." They actually have the ability to attach to the victim and suck blood from it. In Latin, leeches are called Hirudinea. They can live like external ectoparasites - they stick to the victim’s body. They are also able to attack smaller animals.
Most types of leeches are outwardly the same and differ only in their color - black, greenish or brownish. Their body is dense, it seems oblong from above, it can reach 15 cm in length.
The upper side is slightly convex, and the ventral is absolutely flat. Suction cups are located at the poles of the body, with them leeches are attached to the plants, soil or to the body of the victim.
When they are motionless, it is difficult to notice them, because they are well camouflaged. During movement they are visible well. They move along the substrate, find the victim, sticking to it in turn at one or the other end. In this case, the rear end is pulled to the front, and the body bends into a loop.
When swimming in water, they bend in waves. Leeches can also make swaying movements, clinging to the ground at one end. This is necessary for them, because they absorb oxygen dissolved in water. For his assimilation of movements should be a lot.
When the leech sways, the water layer around it changes to a new one containing fresh oxygen. Each type of leeches occupies only one zoogeographic area.
For life, these creatures need fresh water, only some of them can live in the Caspian and Azov seas. Leeches do not like the cold and fall into hibernation at the first frosts. They are awake all year round only when breeding their homes. A sleeping leech waits for the winter, curled up in a ball.
Structure
In a medical leech, the body consists of 102 rings. It is not capable of regeneration. From the back, she has many small papillae and holes. On the ventral side they are much smaller, only about 38, including two genital.
They have no kidneys, the circulatory system is associated with intracavitary fluid, where both blood and metabolic products are purified. The body of the leech is covered with the thinnest skin from the outside. It is one layer of print-like cells forming the epidermis. Around it there is a transparent cuticle that performs a protective function. She is constantly growing. Shedding occurs every 2-3 days, as a result of which the cuticle is updated. Discarded films look like white covers. They clog the containers where leeches live at home, so they should be regularly removed.
The skin contains nerve cells, small capillaries and a large number of mucous glands that secrete a gel mass. It covers the cuticle of leeches, so they are always wet and slippery.
The leech also breathes through the skin, because it does not have gills. On her body there is a specific pattern - longitudinal yellow-orange stripes located closer to the sides. There are also black spots there. By this color, you can distinguish therapeutic leeches from others.
The mouth is at the head end and is surrounded by a suction cup. In the back there is a second suction cup. Leeches, on average, live for about 6 years. The duration of the existence of wild individuals by scientists is not known for certain, it is possible that among them there are long-livers.
Leeches have 10 eyes. There is no lens in them, but there are 50 photoreceptors in each. The eyes look like spherical chambers. They do not give a holistic image.
But the leech perfectly captures all the smells, although it does not have the organs of smell and touch. Irritants are captured by sensitive skin cells. There are especially many at the head end. This helps them not only to find a victim, but also to swim out of the foul-smelling water that they cannot tolerate.
With high accuracy, leeches recognize the smells of people and large mammals, that is, potential victims. Of course, the smell of blood is the most attractive to them, to which they react instantly. Leeches immediately take a hunting stance that resembles that of dogs: they stand vertically in line, begin to swing energetically and make movements with the front end.
Leeches in nature starve most of the time. They are used to such a regime and may not eat until six months. The maximum duration of a hunger strike has been investigated and proven. She is 1.5 years old.
In the stomach and intestines, they have stores of fresh blood. Therefore, leeches do not need daily food intake, digesting the received portion for 2-3 weeks.
In nature, warm-blooded animals wander into water bodies. Observations show that many animals often do this on purpose, allowing themselves to leech themselves. After such a session of hirudotherapy, their condition improves. This was what man once paid attention to.
Small mammals of water bodies can eat leeches: otter, water shrew, muskrat, very rarely birds. The main consumers of these creatures are snails and water scorpion.
Leech Reproduction
Leeches are hermaphrodites. Despite this, two individuals must participate in the creation of the offspring. The reproduction of leeches is somewhat different than that of many other hermaphrodites, that is, they do not fertilize themselves, but create pairs. Moreover, different types of steaming methods differ.
For breeding leeches use the external-internal method, studied by academician M.S. Gilyarov. Before expulsion, the seed enters the inside of a special male genital organ - the atrium. Here a spermatophore bag is formed. During copulation, the spermatophore leaves the atrium and attaches to the partner's abdomen near its genital opening.
Further, the wall of the abdomen in this place is destroyed, and the sperm penetrate into the female.
Thus, for breeding leeches, 2 sexually mature individuals are needed. They become such by the age of 3 years, when a sufficient number of germ cells - eggs and sperm cells - accumulate in their bodies.
A leech propagates once a year, and offspring brings 3-4 times in its entire life. Ethologists have proved the fact that these animals can not only create pairs, but also take care of their offspring.
This is evidenced by the fact that the place for attaching the cocoon is carefully selected and arranged. Some types of leech hatching cubs or cocoons with zygotes attach to the lower part of their body from the ventral side and are worn on them until the juveniles are fully grown.
An interesting process is the reproduction of leeches medical. They do not use the external-internal method. Sperm to the female gets only as a result of copulation. They have a well developed copulative organ. Functionally, it is similar to the human. It is incredible that worms practice different copulation positions. One of the moments of breeding leeches in the photo below is presented.
In these animals, scientists distinguish two main methods of copulation: the front ends can be directed in one or in opposite directions. In the first case, one individual from the pair takes on the role of the male, and the other the female. In the second position, individuals mutually fertilize each other.
Breeding leeches and earthworms, which are also hermaphrodites, is similar: they need a couple.
Leech business
Man has been using these animals for a very long time. Some are interested in breeding leeches, although such a hobby seems aesthetically unpleasant. However, such a business has an advantage - lack of competitors. Now in Russia there are only 4 farms officially engaged in this business.
For breeding are stringent requirements. Home conditions do not mean the boundaries of one apartment or a country house. For breeding leeches will have to equip a whole farm. There must be a room with a number of rooms, each of which will contain leeches at different stages of its life cycle - a cocoon, babies, adults. One of the main conditions for breeding leeches is to maintain a favorable microclimate for them: the air temperature should be from 25 to 27 º, and humidity should be at least 80%.
The containers for them can be ordinary 3-liter jars filled with purified water. Aquariums will cost more. In one bank it is allowed to contain no more than 30 individuals. Water must be settled. It is necessary to fill the jar with 2/3 of the volume.
The main thing when breeding leeches at home is clean water. To ensure this, household filters are needed. Periodically, some sand is added to the jars. It helps leeches clear of mucus, which must be regularly removed. Water change is carried out every 2-4 days. To prevent leeches from spreading, the neck of the can is tightly covered with a cotton cloth and pulled with an elastic band. Direct light is undesirable for these creatures, but the room should be bright.
The breeding of leeches consists in constant monitoring of their development and timely transfer of young animals to the appropriate groups. All work on the farm is done only manually.
Feeding
At home, it is administered with certified bovine blood taken from healthy animals. It should be agreed upon in advance. To feed a leech, you do not need to pour blood into jars. The vessel must be separate. Blood spills on its bottom and is covered with a film on top.
Then they start leeches there. They safely bite the film and eat. A sign of saturation is the appearance of foam. Well-fed leeches must be washed and distributed again in their banks.
Such feeding is carried out no more than 1 time per month and a half. An individual for sale should starve for at least 3 months. Then it will be suitable.
Farm breeding
Reproduction of leeches at home is not very difficult. To mate, they are seated in pairs and left alone for about a month. That is how much their mating season lasts.
Leeches should be full, then pairing is better. A month later, they are transplanted into the mother caterpillar to lay the cocoon with eggs.
Peat with moss turf is poured at the bottom. This is necessary for leeches for digging moves in the soil and placing a cocoon. Cubs appear after 40 days (in sunny weather). They are usually very hungry. Young growth should grow separately about adults. Kids also feed on blood.
Reproduction of leeches at home can be obtained by anyone who will comply with the above conditions. It is better to start a business with 500-600 individuals. Otherwise, it will not be profitable. You can get 7-8 million leeches per year.
Shipping
This process also requires compliance with certain conditions. It is necessary to transport leeches in a glass container, two-thirds filled with settled water. Standards for temperature and humidity must be observed.
If the distance to the customer is not more than 100 km, it can be transported in plastic containers with a perforated lid. In each 3-liter capacity, 200 leeches can be placed.
If the distance is more than 100 km, then fabric bags made of calico are used. Their size is 30x20 cm. It can accommodate up to 300 leeches. The microclimate is the same.
Breeding leeches at home is also a production, so you need to approach the matter very seriously. When arranging such a farm, it is necessary to ensure compliance with fire safety, ecology, waste management and so on.
Where to buy
Leeches for breeding can simply be caught in the nearest body of water. But the consequences of using such animals are unpredictable. Therefore, you need to buy leeches only at certified bio farms or in pharmacies.
Where to sell
There can be several points:
- Hirudotherapy medical centers.
- Pharmacies.
- Private hirudotherapists.
- Those wishing to start a business.
- Sale abroad.
In Russia, one leech costs 30-40 rubles. In Europe, its price is about ten times more expensive.
Healing properties
With a more detailed study of leeches, an unambiguous opinion arises about their uniqueness. They can be called a small masterpiece of nature. They have amazing healing properties.
This explains their popularity. The range of pathologies for hirudotherapy is very wide. Leech is used in the complex treatment of cardiac pathologies, eye diseases, in surgery and microsurgery, dermatology, cosmetology, gynecology, endocrinology. They help with varicose veins, thrombophlebitis, hypertension, hemorrhoids, atherosclerosis.
The leech turned out to be a whole living factory of biologically active substances, which, when released into the human blood, have an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect that relieves swelling, dilutes the blood, improves its microcirculation, and also activates the immune system.
Leech behavior on a patient’s skin
During the session, a leech is placed at the intended place. However, she does not attack the victim immediately, but first searches for a suitable point on the patient’s body.
A leech can suck blood for up to an hour, but the session lasts no more than 20 minutes. When this time ends, it is removed with a swab moistened with alcohol or iodine, and immersed in chloramine for destruction. The use of one copy is repeatedly prohibited. Useful not so much a leech, as its saliva. It stands out continuously in the process of sucking. Saliva contains the most valuable biologically active substances that have a therapeutic effect.