English Russia has assembled a collection of about 50 photos from a Russian medicinal leech farm, documenting the technology used to raise them by the millions. The reproductive process of hermaphroditic creatures is a bit complex:
The photo above shows the cute little newborns emerging from a cocoon. Cootchie-cootcie-coo! The leeches are fed slaughterhouse blood until their distribution to medical clinics, where they may be stored in pretty pink jars.
Links for the photo album and the biology.
As hermaphrodites, leeches have both male and female sex organs... Mating involves the intertwining of bodies where each deposits sperm in the others' clitellar area... The clitellum secretes a tough gelatinous cocoon which contains nutrients, and it is in this that the eggs are deposited... The cocoon is either buried or attached to a rock, log or leaf and dries to a foamy crust. After several weeks or months, the young emerge as miniature adults. Studies show that the cocoons are capable of surviving the digestive system of a duck.
The photo above shows the cute little newborns emerging from a cocoon. Cootchie-cootcie-coo! The leeches are fed slaughterhouse blood until their distribution to medical clinics, where they may be stored in pretty pink jars.
Links for the photo album and the biology.
I have seen hell, and it uses mason jars.