A complete collection of leech pictures to help you recognize the appearance and common species of leeches

The leech, commonly known as the bloodsucker, is an annelid that lives in freshwater, mostly inhabiting paddy fields, ponds, ditches and swamps. As can be seen in leech pictures, its body is long and flat or cylindrical, with a smooth, moist surface, and a sucker at each of the front and rear ends, which are its main organs for attaching and crawling.

From the pictures, the back of the leech is mostly grayish brown, dark green or blackish brown with markings, some species have longitudinal light-colored lines, and the ventral surface is lighter in color. The body is distinctly segmented and highly extensible; at rest it often contracts into a ball, while when crawling or swimming it stretches out and elongates.

Common species include the wide-bodied golden leech (Whitmania pigra) and the Japanese medical leech (Hirudo nipponia). The wide-bodied golden leech is larger in size, with yellow longitudinal stripes on its back, generally does not suck blood, and mainly feeds on snails and other mollusks; the Japanese medical leech is relatively smaller and has a blood-sucking habit. In addition, a terrestrial leech, the mountain leech, also lives in the mountainous areas of the south, mostly active in grass and forests, and often attaches to people and livestock to suck blood.

Although the leech's appearance makes some people uncomfortable, it has high medicinal value; after drying, the whole body can be used as medicinal material, and in recent years many people have also tried artificial breeding. When working in fields or in water, it is best to wear protective shoes and socks; if a leech attaches to you, do not pull it off roughly, but use salt grains or a gentle pat to make it drop off on its own.