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Leeches jumping at us from trees! Earth’s newest insect terror.

By Austin Michael Jun 24, 2024 | 6:55 PM

It’s been a while since a crazy weird insect has scared the heck out of everyone. And they know they’ve been slacking. So, on behalf of the insect world, let me introduce you to leeches that live on land….. and can jump. That’s jump, as in off trees into your face, ears, anywhere really.

A video was just released showing one of these monsters pulling its body back, sort of like a snake about to strike, and then springing off a leaf very forcefully and quickly. (Make your own appropriate sound effect for something swooshing by fast. Maybe Peeow! Or it could be schwooooow!)

The good news is that these jumping leeches were first discovered in Africa. The bad news is that it was in 2017. The video was taken in 2017. For whatever reason, it wasn’t available to the public until 7 years later. That means they’ve had plenty of time to jump their way across the ocean.