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You've seen them in your garden, usually early in the morning or late at night: slimy looking creatures moving so slow it's
hard to tell they're moving at all. Yep, we're talking about slugs. Most people think they're pretty disgusting, but some slugs actually have fans. In fact, the banana slug is even the mascot for a college, the University of
California at Santa Cruz! You can take a look at the school's banana slug. Check this spot out for a view of the California college's mascot: http://www.nhgs.tec.va.us/GovSch/chemistry/slug/FiatSlug.GIF The Kinds of Slugs In addition to
the banana slug, there are as many as 40 different kinds of slugs in the United States and over 750 varieties of snails. Here are three of the slugs you will be most likely to see: Common garden slug:
The most common type of slug, these creatures are about an inch long, dark and have a yellow stripe on their sides. |
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Slug Q and A Q: What does a slug eat? A: Slugs are vegetarians and eat plants. Different types of slugs like different types of plants. Kind of the way people are – people who
live in Japan have a different diet than the people who live in the United States. Slugs in different parts of the country eat different things. And different types of slugs have their own preferences. Q: How does a slug move?
A: Slugs use a long and very strong foot to move. Q: A foot? With toes? A: Nope, no toes. And it's unlikely you would recognize a snail's foot since it is very different from a human foot. Instead it's a long protrusion the
snail uses to propel itself, just like humans use their feet. Q: What kind of animal is a slug? A: Slugs are invertebrates belonging to the scientific classification "Phylum Mollusca" and are closer to the octopus
than the insect family. That means the lowly little slug you stepped on when you went to get the newspaper this morning is related to those huge creatures found deep in the ocean!
Q: But octopuses are so much bigger and more complex than slugs! A: Yes and no. All the creatures classified in the mollusk family have several things in common: Their bodies are soft and not divided into segments. They have
an internal or external shell (the slug's relative – the snail – carries his shell outside). They have a muscular foot or tentacles. Q: Why don't I see slugs during the day? A: Slugs come out at night and prefer wet, cool
conditions. The time you will most likely see a garden slug is at night or in the early morning and spring is their favorite season. |
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Fun Slug Facts Here are a few fun slug facts: Did you know birds, ducks, moles and some types of beetles eat slugs? Did you know slugs are very sensitive to the wind and can
dehydrate and die if caught in a wind? Did you know slugs live underground and absorb moisture through the dirt? Did you know older slugs are usually females? Did you know slugs are so sensitive to changes in temperature they
can tell when it's changed as little as two degrees Fahrenheit? Did you know that slugs lay eggs? Web Sites to Check Out If you want to learn more about slugs, check out these web sites: Ever heard of the
Giant African Snail? Here's a site devoted to them. The link is for the page on snail anatomy: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/6210This site is incredible and has tons of pages with interesting information, drawings and photographs of slugs: http://members.tripod.com/arnobrosi/snail.html Here's another great site with lots of pictures of snails, slugs and other invertebrates: |
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