We all reckon to know what a slug is like. But look at the picture – what is different? Though it appears to be slug-like in lacking a shell, in fact the tiny roundish thing at the tail end is a vestige of a shell, a sort of hat at the wrong end.
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| The Shield slug
(Testacella scutulum) |
Land slugs have evolved from snails in several different lineages. The shell has been reduced to a remnant in this case, but most slugs do without a shell altogether.
You may have by now guessed that such an extraordinary slug is no ordinary lettuce eater. In fact it is not a pest and does not even eat plants; this slug eats other slugs. Although only a minority of slug species are garden pests, this slug’s habits must be music to the ears of most gardeners.
! Its diet may well include some other choice pest items.
You have probably never seen one, so where does it live? The answer is out of sight in the soil, since this is a subterranean slug.
Before packing the car for an excursion to a remote nature reserve somewhere, simply go to the tool shed for a fork and start digging the garden. The best place to find these slugs is garden soil, especially if well enriched with manure and compost.
In Britain we have three species of type of slug (known as 'Testacella'). One is mainly southern but the other two are more widespread, living as far north as the Scottish Lowlands.
Enjoy your slug hunting! (But no nasty pellets please)
