Bloodsucker Collection

Front cover of Dracula by Bram Stoker (1847-1912) 1920 (litho)
CHT167946 Front cover of Dracula by Bram Stoker (1847-1912) 1920 (litho) by Falke, Pierre (1884-1947); Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France; © Archives Charmet

Leech, Hirudo circulans. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by James Sowerby from The British Miscellany, or Coloured figures of new, rare, or little known animal subjects, London, 1804

Cross-section of a Flea from Micrographia, pub. 1665 (engraving)
5902922 Cross-section of a Flea from Micrographia, pub. 1665 (engraving) by Hooke, Robert (1635-1703); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; British, out of copyright

The liar
Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a deer ked (Lipoptena cervi). L. cervi lives as an ectoparasite on deer, moose and other cervids

Father Thames Introducing His offspring to the Fair City of London. English cartoon, 1858
CHOLERA CARTOON, 1858. Father Thames Introducing His offspring to the Fair City of London. English cartoon, 1858, by John Leech on the need to provide proper sanitation

Pale giant horse fly C014 / 9676
Common horse fly. Close-up of a pale giant horse fly (Tabanus bovinus), or cleg, showing its colourful compound eyes. Male horse flies (family Tabanidae) feed on nectar, but females feed on blood

SWAMMERDAM: MOSQUITO. Illustration by Jan Swammerdam (1637-1680) from his Histoire Generale des Insectes, posthumously published in 1682

Oriental Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor) adult, close-up of head, Yala N. P. Sri Lanka, February
Oriental Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor) adult, close-up of head, Yala N.P. Sri Lanka, February

Common Bedbug (Cimex lectularius) adult, sucking blood from human skin, Italy, July

Black horse fly C018 / 4697
Black horse fly (Tabanus atratus), close-up photograph. This specimen was found in Maryland, USA. Photographed by the USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab: an organisation dedicated to identifying

Deer tick, SEM
Deer tick. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the head of a deer tick (Ixodes ricinus), a bloodsucking parasite of animals and humans

Sheep tick, SEM
Sheep tick. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a sheep tick (Ixodes ricinus). This is a bloodsucking parasite of animals and humans

Common vampire bat colony
Common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) colony. These bats inhabit forests and scrubland from Mexico to southern South America. They feed only on blood

Tick anus, SEM
Tick anus. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a close-up of a tick (order Ixodida) showing its anus (centre). Magnification: x150 when printed 10 centimetres wide

Mosquito feeding on a lizard (Enyalioides microlepis). Some species of mosquitoes feed on the blood of a range of animals, often mammals, but also including reptiles and amphibians

Deer fly C014 / 9955
Deer fly. Close-up of a deer fly (Lipoptena cervi), or deer ked, on human skin. Deer flies (family Hippoboscidae) are biting flies that are parasites of elk, deer and other bovine animals

Engorged Ixodes tick. Top view of an Ixodes sp. tick whose body is swollen full of blood it has ingested. Ticks are blood-sucking arachnids that feed on humans and other animals

Mosquito biting a human C014 / 9801
Mosquito biting a human. Close-up of an Aedes sp. mosquito feeding on a human

Common horse fly C014 / 9771
Common horse fly. Close-up of a common horse fly (Haematopota pluvialis), or cleg, on human skin. Male horse flies (family Tabanidae) feed on nectar, but females feed on blood

Deer fly C014 / 9763
Deer fly. Close-up of a deer fly (Lipoptena cervi), or deer ked, on human skin. Deer flies (family Hippoboscidae) are biting flies that are commonly found in temperate regions of Europe

Common horse fly C014 / 9664
Common horse fly. Close-up of a common horse fly (Haematopota pluvialis), or cleg, on human skin. Male horse flies (family Tabanidae) feed on nectar, but females feed on blood

Nurse with a jar of medicinal leeches C018 / 2317
Medicinal leeches (Hirudo medicinalis) in a tank of water. Leeches are parasites that feed on blood. They attach themselves to the skin using suckers and create a wound with three sharp jaw plates

A woman using leeches for bloodletting. Woodcut from Willem van den Bossches Historia Medica, published in 1638
BLOODLETTING, 1638. A woman using leeches for bloodletting. Woodcut from Willem van den Bossches Historia Medica, published in 1638

A Case for the Cold-Water Cure. American cartoon engraving on the use of leeches to treat medical problems, 1864
MEDICAL CARTOON, 1864. A Case for the Cold-Water Cure. American cartoon engraving on the use of leeches to treat medical problems, 1864

Oriental Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor) adult, resting on tree stump, Sri Lanka, december

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"Bloodsucker: Unveiling the Dark World of Parasites and Vampires" Step into the eerie realm of bloodsuckers as we explore their presence in various forms throughout history. From Bram Stoker's iconic novel Dracula to the microscopic leeches, fleas, and mosquitoes that haunt our nightmares, these creatures have long fascinated and terrified us. The front cover of Dracula by Bram Stoker sets the stage for our journey into the supernatural. Published in 1920, this lithograph captures the essence of Count Dracula's insatiable thirst for blood. Delving deeper, we encounter a cross-section of a flea from Micrographia (1665), an engraving that reveals its grotesque anatomy. These tiny parasites have plagued humans and animals alike for centuries. But it is not just physical bloodsuckers that haunt us; there are metaphorical ones too. The liar lurks among us, draining trust and spreading deceit like a vampire drains life force. In an English cartoon by John Leech from 1858, Father Thames introduces his offspring to London as he emphasizes the need for proper sanitation to save lives from epidemics such as diphtheria, scrofula, and cholera. Here we witness how neglect can transform cities into breeding grounds for unseen bloodsucking dangers. Jan Swammerdam's illustration depicts a mosquito with intricate detail from his Histoire (17th century). These buzzing insects remind us that even nature has its own vampires lurking within its depths. Venturing further across continents brings us face-to-face with exotic creatures like the Oriental Garden Lizard in Sri Lanka. Its striking appearance reminds us that not all they are nocturnal or mythical beings - some walk amongst us during daylight hours. Returning closer to home, we confront one of humanity's most reviled pests - bedbugs.