Haematophagy

rumor that Jews killed Christians to use blood in ceremonies

thumb|250px|right|An Anopheles stephensi mosquito obtaining a blood meal from a human host through its pointed proboscis. Note the droplet of blood being expelled from the engorged abdomen. This mosquito is a malarial vector with a distribution that ranges from Egypt to China. thumb|A bedbug thumb|Two butterflies of the genus Erebia sucking fresh blood from a sock

thumb|A female Anopheles|Anopheles minimus mosquito obtaining a blood meal from a human host to support its anautogenous reproduction In entomology, anautogeny is a reproductive strategy in which an adult female insect must eat a particular sort of meal (generally vertebrate blood) before laying eggs in order for her eggs to mature. This behavior is most common among dipteran flies, such as mosquitoes. Anautogenous animals often serve as vectors for infectious disease in their hosts because of their contact with hosts' blood. The opposite trait (needing no special food as an adult to successfu