Most of us recoil from creatures that sip blood. Yet these organisms — from vampire bats that inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula to tiny leeches…
Most of us recoil from creatures that sip blood. Yet these organisms — from vampire bats that inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula to tiny leeches found throughout tropical and Antarctic environments — play key roles in our ecosystems and may help change our perspective on blood-drinkers.
Hematophage animals that consume blood from mammals, fish or birds typically possess sharp needle-like proboscises that penetrate skin to reach their prey. Their saliva contains chemicals designed to ease any pain experienced by their host as well as prevent their blood from clotting while eating and help digest proteins consumed from blood sources.
Many hematophagids – ticks, fleas and lice – carry serious diseases that can spread between hosts or animals such as bubonic plague, Chagas disease, dengue fever, typhus fever, malaria Lyme disease and West Nile virus. One single hematophage can easily contaminate multiple hosts as it transports bacteria, viruses and blood-borne parasites that it has picked up from multiple feedings.
Hematophagids provide more than medical benefits: they’re also invaluable sources of biological data about their host species. For instance, one vampire bat saliva protein which prevents blood clots and platelet aggregation during feeding led to the development of desmoteplase, an effective blood clot-buster drug used today to break up problematic blood clots.
Due to this reason, hematophagids tend to be particularly selective about where they feed; leeches tend to favour areas that can be difficult to access with medical gloves such as the groin; this site also provides rich nutrients that bloodsuckers require for survival.
While mosquitoes and leeches can spread serious diseases, others — like leeches and ticks — can provide life-saving services. “This exhibition’s goal is to show these creatures as part of nature,” states Doug Currie, Senior Curator of Entomology at Royal Ontario Museum and co-curator of Blood Suckers.
Abbott and Versiti Blood Centers have joined with The Field Museum to host blood drives at our museum, offering donors and up to three guests free basic admission and exhibition admission in exchange for your lifesaving donation! Thank you so much!