SLUG

29th January 2024

Photo Credit: Andreas Hauslbetz (Getty Image), CANVA (Leopard Slug: Limax maximus

QUOTATION

I thought my mother and my brother York

Would long ere this have met us on the way.

Fie what a slug is Hastings that he comes not

To tell us whether or not they come!

PRINCE: Richard III, Act 3, Scene 1

SLUG

(E.g. Garden Slug (Arion hortensis), Leopard Slug (Limax maximus)

Shakespeare uses Slug and sluggish in a few references as a metaphor for slowness.

There are over a 150 species of Snails and Slugs in the UK and they have many different habitats and feeding requirements. Many gardeners will be familiar with the Garden Slug (Arion hortensis). Slugs like the Leopard Slug (Limax maximus) eat other Slugs and are considered helpful in the garden. Slugs like the Ash Black Slug is the largest UK slug and is an indicator of old growth woodland.

More Information

Buglife: Ash Black Slug

Conchological Society of Great Britain: Visit Site

Eversham B, 2018: Identifying British Slugs (Wildlife Trusts Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire)

John Innes Centre: Slug Identification Guide

Imperial College: Invertebrate Identification Guide

Natural History Museum Wales: Slugs of Britain and Ireland

Woodland Trust: Slugs and Snails