92 Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 



small water snails which its great relative strength enables it to 

 overcome with ease. Small worms and aquatic insect larvse are 

 also eaten but it rarely or never partakes of the blood of verte- 

 brates. Notwithstanding its great strength and activity when 

 once aroused this is naturally a sluggish leech and is much more 

 likely than other related species to roll itself into a tight ball and 

 so remain quiescent for considerable periods of time. The breed- 

 ing habits closely resemble those of the last species, especially in 

 the fact that only a small number of capsules, each containing a 

 large number of eggs, are produced. The length of the breeding 

 season is also unusually long. 



"Aug. 18, '00, B. W. E.," 1 specimen; "Long Pt. Sept. 1, '00, 

 with five other sorts," one unusually large example ; "E. Long 

 Point, by Holbrunner's Oct. 29, '04," three specimens with the 

 brown lines broken into series of dashes, with one G. fusca and 

 one P. rugosa; "Long Pt., Dec. 7, '04, with others," four small ex- 

 amples; "Long Pt. Dec. 7, '04," 8 small specimens with G. fusca 

 and G. stagnalis; "E. side knee-deep, Oct. 17, '06," 4 specimens one 

 of which is coarsely mottled on the dorsum; "19-I-III," 1 speci- 

 men with one each of G. stagnalis, G. fusca and H. heteroclita. 



4. GLOSSIPHONIA HETEROCLITA (Linnieus) 



This is a small leech of very distinctive characteristics which 

 occurs in Europe and the northern United States. Nowhere in 

 this country is it plentiful though it is probable that it is frequently 

 overlooked because of its small size and inconspicuous coloration. 

 Little is known of its habits. It is found in the same situations as 

 G. stagnalis and is very sluggish. Its usual food appears to be 

 the juices and mucus of aquatic snails. Unlike the remaining 

 species of the genus, the eggs are attached singly to the ventral 

 surface, more as in Placobdella. 



But one specimen occurs in this collection, "19-I-III" with one 

 each of G. stagnalis, G. fusca and G. complanata. 



5. PLACOBDELLA PARASITICA (Say) 



This strikingly handsome leech of interesting habits is not only 

 one of the most abundant but one of the largest and best known of 

 our North American species. 



It is familiar chiefly as a temporary blood-sucking parasite of 

 the snapping turtle but occurs more rarely upon other species of 

 aquatic turtles, and also lives during part of its life a free existence 

 during which it feeds on aquatic worms and other small inverte- 

 brates. The method of fertilization by means of spermatophores 



