blood-feeding
Consuming vital fluid
Blood-feeding describes organisms, typically insects and other arthropods, that consume blood as their primary or sole source of nutrition.
Mosquitoes, ticks, leeches, and vampire bats are among the most familiar blood-feeding creatures.
The technical term is hematophagous, but blood-feeding is the plain English equivalent used in scientific and general contexts alike.
Blood-feeding insects can transmit diseases between hosts.
Blood-feeding flying pest
- tickParasitic eight-legged pest
- fleaBlood-drinking jumping pest
- bedbugBlood-sucking mattress dweller
- midgeDiminutive two-winged fly
horsefly · tsetse · blackfly · sandfly · louse · proboscis · bite · host
Blood-feeding aquatic worm
- lampreyJawless parasitic fish
- vampire batHematophagous flying mammal
- hookwormIntestinal blood-feeding nematode
- parasiteOne exploiting a host
attachment · wound · anemia · nocturnal · coagulation · histamine · painless · medicinal leech
Mosquito-borne parasitic infection
- dengueMosquito-borne viral disease
- ZikaMosquito-spread viral infection
- West NileMosquito-transmitted viral infection
- typhusLouse-transmitted bacterial infection
sleeping sickness · transmission · pathogen · infection · epidemic · vector-borne · outbreak · fever
Active during darkness
- carbon dioxideRespiration byproduct, photosynthesis fuel
- attractionPull toward something
- landingDescent's final moment
- probingThoroughly investigating something
piercing · engorgement · digestion · oviposition · breeding · swarming · aggregation · questing
mosquito
Blood-feeding flying pest
midge · horsefly · tsetse · blackfly · sandfly · louse · proboscis · bite · host · vector
leech
Blood-feeding aquatic worm
- lampreyJawless parasitic fish
- vampire batHematophagous flying mammal
- hookwormIntestinal blood-feeding nematode
parasite · attachment · wound · anemia · nocturnal · coagulation · histamine · painless · medicinal leech · bloodletting
malaria
Mosquito-borne parasitic infection
- dengueMosquito-borne viral disease
- ZikaMosquito-spread viral infection
- West NileMosquito-transmitted viral infection
typhus · sleeping sickness · transmission · pathogen · infection · epidemic · vector-borne · outbreak · fever · plasmodium
nocturnal
Active during darkness
- carbon dioxideRespiration byproduct, photosynthesis fuel
- attractionPull toward something
- landingDescent's final moment
probing · piercing · engorgement · digestion · oviposition · breeding · swarming · aggregation · questing · ambush
- bloodsuckersmosquito, tick, flea, leech, bedbug
- licehead louse, head lice, body louse, body lice, crab lice
blood-feedingherbivorous
Consuming only plants
vegetarian · nectar-feeding · autotrophic · photosynthetic · filter-feeding
blood-feedingnon-parasitic
Not dependent on hosts
free-living · mutualistic · autotrophic · photosynthesizing · self-sustaining