88 Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 



rather large, yellow eggs under her, and on June 8 one was found 

 under a board covering a number of minute young. On June 11, 

 a number of very small red ones were found attached to the mother. 



The swimming leech of the lake, Dina fervida, is often found 

 under boards or rocks. When frightened it swims off with great 

 rapidity, apparently swimming on its side with rapid dorso-ventral 

 flexions of the body. It is pink in color and bears considerable 

 resemblance to a fish worm in general appearance, but is flat and 

 has no ring about the body. It does not appear to be parasitic 

 but is a scavenger, often being found in considerable numbers on 

 dead animals (coot, duck, shrews) found at the water's edge. They 

 are eaten by water-dogs and probably by fishes and appear to be 

 the principal food of the Wilson Snipe which haunt the stretches of 

 shore during its autumnal migrations. A prominent citizen of 

 Culver reported that leeches make the best sort of bait he ever 

 tried. He had found this out one summer when other sorts of bait 

 were scarce. All sorts of fish took them eagerly — bass, bluegill, 

 sunfish, etc. They were "as tough as India rubber so the fishes 

 could not take them off" the hook — often two or three fish could be 

 caught on the same leech." 



The leeches of Lake Maxinkuckee are evidently incompletely 

 made known herein and further explorations may be expected to 

 demonstrate the occurrence of at least five or six additional species. 

 The collections upon which this report is based comprise 11 species. 

 These are apportioned among three families, as follows: Glossi- 

 phonidse, seven; Hirudinidse, one; and Erpobdellidse, three. No 

 specimens of the Ichthyobdellidje are included, although it is cer- 

 tain that one and probably two, or perhaps even three, species of 

 the true fish-leeches occur parasitically upon the skin and fins or 

 within the gill-chambers of the small fishes of the lake. The Glossi- 

 phonidse, as the most accessible and easily collected of leeches, are 

 probably nearly completely represented in the collection. The 

 same is true of the Erpobdellidse, also. Of the Hirudinid^e one or 

 two additional species of H^emopis may be expected to occur and 

 the true blood-sucking leech, Macrohdella decora, so ubiquitous 

 throughout the greater part of the North American continent, 

 should occur in the plant-grown shallows of the lake, where warm- 

 blooded animals come to drink or where frogs deposit their eggs 

 in the spring. 



For full descriptions and figures of the several species men- 

 tioned in this report, as well as for the synonymy and literature 

 references, the following papers may be consulted : Castle, Some 



