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Erpobdella obscura is a freshwater ribbon leech common in North America. It is a relatively large leech and is commonly used as bait by anglers for walleye and other sport fish. In Minnesota, live bait dealers annually harvest over 45,000 kg of bait-leeches, raising concerns of over-harvest. [3]
Back of Macrobdella decora – note the row of orange dots down the middle and the two sets of black ones on the sides.. Macrobdella decora is a medium-sized leech, growing between 5 and 8.5 cm (2.0 and 3.3 in) long, and weighing from 1.48 to 3.69 grams (0.052 to 0.130 oz).
Hirudiculture is the culture, or farming, of leeches in both natural and artificial environments. This practice drew the attention of Parisian savants and members of the French Société Zoologique d'Acclimitation in the mid-to-late 19th century as a part of a larger interest in the culture of fish and oysters. [1]
The natural bait angler, with few exceptions, will use a common prey species of the fish as an attractant. The natural bait used may be alive or dead. Common natural baits include worms (most commonly earthworm and bloodworm), leeches (notably bait-leech Nephelopsis obscura), insects (both adults and larvae), minnows, frogs, salamanders and ...
Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida.They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract.
A prominent feature of Pontobdella leeches are the "wart-like" tubercles which cover their bodies all over. Pontobdella 's hosts are generally elasmobranchs – rays, sharks, skates, and sawfish. Each segment of the leech's body (and all leeches have 32) has three or four annuli .
The egg-sucking leech is an artificial fly used in fly fishing. Its name comes from its resemblance to a leech in the process of consuming a fish egg . The body of the lure is dark-colored like a leech, often black or purple, and the tip of the lure is bright red or orange to look like a small rounded fish egg.
Leeches are hermaphrodite and pair up to impregnate each other by hypodermic injection. [6] The eggs are laid in dark brown cocoons which are cemented to submerged objects. After the eggs hatch, the juvenile leeches must seek out suitable fish hosts. The whole life cycle takes about four weeks to complete. [2]