| Most slugs do not have a shell, but some have a small shell or just a few grains of shell located under the mantle (see below). There are over 20 species of slug un the U.K. Left is Arion sp. The slug body consists almost entirely of the foot. They breathe through the pneumostome, which can be clearly seen below left, and in the drawing above. Probably the most common
British slug is Agriolimax reticulatus, the netted slug. It is a pale
buff or cream colour with brown blotches, and has milky-white mucus. It is the
slug which does the most damage in the garden. When it is contracted its body
is almost dome-shaped. Below left Arion ater, in this species the young are straw coloured, not black. The adults can reach over 20 cm. There is great colour variation in these slugs with the red morph (below left) tending to be found in the south, and some authorities now say that the red slug is a different species and have given it the name of Arion rufus. The photograph below was taken in north-east Scotland, whereas the one below that was taken in north-east France. Studies have shown that the dark morph is more common in higher altitudes, lower temperatures and in higher humidity. |
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Gardeners may want to read
this sitting down. One keen Hertfordshire gardener spent 30 minutes every week removing slugs from his garden. In one year he removed over 16 000 of them. The next year they were just as abundant.
Limas maximus, the great grey slug, can be as
long as 20 cm. It has a curious mating ritual. Two slugs circle each other then
climb a tree, shrub or some structure where they can crawl out. Then they
attach a thread of mucus to the branch or overhang and descend on this thread
of mucus to mate in mid air. Once mating has finished both slugs descend to the
ground on the mucus thread. Mating tends to take place at night. |
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Stonehaven, Scotland
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![[]](http://m3.moostik.net/img/?pseudo=bumblebeepages&cpt=ISlugs&option=invisible)