Hematophagy facts for kids
Hematophagy (say: hee-mah-TOF-uh-jee) is when certain animals feed on blood. It's like drinking blood for food!
Blood is a special liquid inside animals that is full of good stuff like proteins and lipids (fats). These are important nutrients that animals need to live and grow. Because blood is easy to get and full of energy, many small animals have learned to feed on it. This way of eating has developed over a very long time through evolution.
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Animals That Feed on Blood
Many different kinds of animals are hematophagous. They include tiny worms, arthropods (like insects and spiders), some fish, and even some mammals and birds.
Insects and Other Arthropods
Many insects and other arthropods are known for drinking blood. Think about mosquitoes, which are famous for biting humans and other animals to get blood. Another example is the bedbug, a tiny insect that hides in beds and comes out at night to feed on sleeping people. Some butterflies, like those from the genus Erebia, have also been seen drinking fresh blood.
Worms and Leeches
Some worms are also blood-feeders. For example, certain nematodes, which are tiny roundworms, live inside the guts of animals. They feed on blood from the small blood vessels (called capillaries) in the gut.
About 75% of all leech species are hematophagous. Leeches are free-living worms that often live in water. A famous example is the Hirudo medicinalis, also known as the medicinal leech, which has been used in medicine for a long time.
Fish, Birds, and Mammals
It might sound strange, but some fish also feed on blood! Lampreys are eel-like fish that attach to other fish and suck their blood. Another fish, the candiru, is also known for its blood-feeding habits.
Among birds, there are a few surprising examples. The vampire finches and hood mockingbirds, found on the Galápagos Islands, sometimes peck at the skin of larger birds to drink their blood. The Tristan thrush and oxpeckers also feed on blood, often by picking ticks off large mammals and then drinking the blood from the wounds.
The most famous blood-feeding mammals are the vampire bats. These bats, found in Central and South America, fly out at night to find sleeping animals like cows or pigs. They make a small cut in the animal's skin and then lap up the blood.
Why Do Animals Drink Blood?
Animals drink blood because it's a very rich source of food. It's packed with proteins and lipids, which give them lots of energy and building blocks for their bodies. For small animals, getting blood can be easier than hunting or finding other types of food, as it's a liquid and doesn't require much chewing or breaking down.
Images for kids
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A bedbug
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Two butterflies of the genus Erebia sucking fresh blood from a sock
See also
In Spanish: Hematofagia para niños
