Large European slug. Various ways to deal with slugs in the garden

Let's first look at the portrait of a slug, which is familiar to all gardeners. Here he is, a naked freak, wet, nasty .... If chickens could speak, then their words would sound like this: “Here he is, handsome, naked, tasty.” Mother Nature would have tenderly uttered these words: “How beautiful you are, little cub. How I need you."

Number 1 - brown arion, number 2 - striped arion. Striped is a pest.

Arion brown. While "sleeping" - a lump, and crawled - 80 millimeters of growth appeared from somewhere. The main place for a comfortable life is coniferous, deciduous or mixed forests. Sometimes they are seen in old parks or cemeteries. He does not like sunlight, therefore he crawls out to feed in the twilight-dark hours of the day. Mushroom pickers see only traces of feasts - the cavities on the hats are oiled and mushrooms. And how the slug feasts on dead roots, leaves or dead small animals, only zoologists have observed. In our Altai Territory, it is found in Eastern Siberia, in the Amur River basin and Primorsky Territory, only the color instead of brown is rather monochromatic black.

Woe to those gardeners and gardeners who wanted to have not just a plot for growing vegetables and apple trees, but a beautiful place on the edge of the forest under the shade of lonely pines for a beautiful cottage with a production bias in the form of growing garden products - the slug harms the gardens and fields located in the neighborhood with the forest. Yes, and how not to harm, because everything is laid out in the beds, here are the most tender lettuce leaves, and here is the most delicious cabbage.

Arion striped. A close relative of brown, it is lighter in color, it is rather ashen with a slight admixture of yellowness or or creme brulee. This pest prefers to live in cultivated biotopes - in gardens, fields, parks and, of course, in vegetable gardens. It is good that he does not live in all regions, but in the north-west of our country and in its central regions.

Slug black. A very long slug, even a chicken will be afraid to peck, up to 20 centimeters in length its body can stretch when moving. It is good that he feeds on lichens and mushrooms. Range: Karelia, Baltic States, Belarus, west and center of Russia, and areas located east of Novgorod.

Number 1 - large slug, number 2 - field slug, number 3 - black slug, number 4 - smooth slug.

The slug is big. Less black, and that's a joy, because the length of the body can be 130 millimeters, and this is 13 centimeters. But it’s still unpleasant when such living creatures settle in a greenhouse, garden or vegetable garden. He also loves vegetable stores, of course, because the entire range of delicious food is collected in one place, there is no need to spend energy looking for it. Range: northwestern and central regions of Russia.

Malacolimax gentle. Gentle for the gardener, because it eats mushrooms and lichens.

Malacolimax gentle.

Field slug. Not big, only 40 millimeters when stretched. This forest and darkness are not needed, he loves ditches, swamps, meadows, does not shy away from forest edges. The main, most important thing is that he does not like cultivated land. You can save yourself from it by constant digging of the soil in the beds. The soil will lose fertility. What's better? To know...

Slug is smooth. Less field slug. He loves swamps, damp meadows, the banks of overgrown reservoirs. He is not afraid of water, it does not cost him anything to feed on a leaf under water. He is not afraid of the cold.

Slug mesh.

Do not believe everything that is written. For example, that slugs love beer. Maybe they love, but who tested them for the ability to die from alcohol intoxication? Or ashes… What kind of ash, cigarette or wood ash? The first is too little, and the second will need no less. After all, you will have to process the entire area, every square centimeter.

Pine needles will not help, as well as spruce needles. Look above, it says that some slugs love coniferous forests, and there are so many of these needles that you won’t find a haystack among them.

Chemical methods of protection against slugs are ineffective. When a poisonous substance gets on the mucus, the animal simply shakes off the sticky clothes and immediately puts on a new, no less sticky one.

Gardeners believe that ground red hot pepper is dangerous. But this is a very costly method.

Can be chemically destroyed. Metaldehyde will help, it is recommended to scatter 40 grams per square meter. This is also expensive, given that the treatment, that is, the sprinkling of the earth, is not a one-time procedure, but multiple, because every rain washes away all traces. At the same time, it is necessary to pollute the soil with poison, how will the soil inhabitants, who create fertility, react to this?

You can sprinkle with dolomite flour or slaked lime, also not God knows how good, but this is the most economically viable method, although treatments should be carried out after each rain.

There is a generally accepted opinion that you need to sprinkle the paths and around the beds. Don't believe! What, harmful Velcro only live under the tracks? And crawl out to the surface only above the tracks? Therefore, it is recommended to sprinkle around the beds with a path around the perimeter. These animals can hide from the sun and wind in the place where they are impatient!

The beds should be well ventilated, they should not have grass or other shelters during the dangerous period for plants. The lower leaves should be removed so that they do not touch the ground and do not serve as bridges. There should not be many plants in the garden; it is much more difficult to find a pest in the jungle thickets, and it is more comfortable for him.

It is proposed to pollinate the soil with superphosphate. For me, this is not an acceptable method, I have already switched to natural farming, I do not need chemical fertilizers.

Another funny recommendation is to collect slugs in a jar after rain during the day. This can be recommended by someone who has not collected slugs himself. If there can be a million individuals per hectare of cultivated area, as in Great Britain, what percentage of this number will be three dozen specimens that accidentally caught your eye. The search for slugs for subsequent destruction is meaningless.

If you are to pour poison, then you need to do it in such a way as to protect the plant, and not the planting or sowing area - each plant. These scoundrels like to be found in the soil layer near the stems of plants. So it is necessary to loosen the bed, especially deeply with the soil tilted away from the stem. So all the slugs will be on the surface, they are clearly visible. Take a pruner and cut each one, believe me, slugs do not have the ability to regenerate tissues. Then spud the stalk with the same soil with the remains of the pest and sprinkle lime on top. This is the most effective way to fight, caution does not hurt - lime should not get on the plant itself, otherwise burns and ...

Reproduction of slugs or why there are no slugs in spring.

They are gentle, soft-bodied creatures, they cannot get deep into the soil, like earthworms or Colorado beetles. Although eggs are laid far enough from the soil surface, they are hidden from drying out at a depth of 8 centimeters.

Although they hide under the remnants of grass, heaps of garbage, they all die in frosts. The eggs remain to winter. If mom-dad-slug found a suitable place for masonry, then little babies will hatch from eggs, something like caviar, in spring on warm days. They will appear to us as adults in mid-July. Such reproduction of slugs was invented by nature.

Why wait for the slugs to attack? It can be prevented by destroying baby slugs or teenagers in time.

Who eats slugs or nature to help us.

Moreover, laying hens should not be allowed to peck at them, because hens will drastically reduce the supply of eggs for dinner.

Hedgehogs, moles, starlings, jackdaws and rooks eat slugs, frogs do not refuse them. Here there is material for thought, who is better for the garden, the mole, which will devour the slug and destroy all the plants, or the hedgehog, who himself is not averse to feasting on our green vegetables?

Lizards, salamanders and snakes fall away immediately. There were ground beetles, toads and frogs - they must be taken as assistants and companions, conditions for reproduction and life must be created.

Tell your friends gardeners and gardeners about ways to protect vegetable crops from a pest that eats everything in summer cottages.

Slugs are quite dangerous pests that can spoil a large number of vegetables, fruits and berries. These molluscs are nocturnal, and during the day they hide in dark and cool places. They are quite difficult to detect in sunlight: you will know about their appearance on the site by the characteristic mucus that slugs leave on the ground, leaves and plants.

Video about slugs. How slugs reproduce. Description. Nutrition. Reproduction:

Slug species

In nature, there are a large number of varieties of slugs, many of which harm agricultural, fruit and berry crops. Let us dwell on the most common varieties of these gastropods.

Garden (garden)

Garden slugs are also called garden clams. Their entire body is always covered with mucus, which serves as a protection against drying out. The body of the slug is elongated. It can be reduced due to the work of the muscles.

The coloring of garden mollusks is of three types:

• Dirty gray;
• yellowish;
• Light brown.

REFERENCE: This type of mollusk prefers cloudy and rainy weather, and is most active at night.

On the tongue of the slug there are rows of hard small cloves - a grater. On the front of the body there are tentacles about 30 mm long, on which the visual organs of the slug are located.

The increased fecundity of slugs is observed in places with high humidity. One adult can lay 300-400 eggs at a time. In winter, the eggs are in the ground, young slugs emerge from them in the spring.

Garden slugs feed on various vegetables and fruits. Give preference to such plants:

• Strawberry,
• Tomatoes;
• cabbage;
• Strawberries.

In vegetables and fruits, slugs leave holes, as a result of which the crop rots and deteriorates. The mollusk is also very harmful to plants, eating their leaves and young shoots.

How to get rid of slugs:

Naked

The most frequent visitor to gardens and orchards is the naked slug. This species feeds on all plants and fruits. The mollusk is found in almost all European countries.

The diet of a naked slug includes more than 160 types of vegetables, fruits and berries.

The body of the mollusk is about 7 cm long. The body is inconspicuous in color - gray, brown or off-white in color with a yellowish tint.

The presence of a slug is easy to spot by the streaks of mucus it leaves as it moves.

Big European

The slug of this species is a dangerous pest that destroys various crops. A large European slug reaches a length of 15 cm. The color of the body of a mollusk is:

• Gray;
• Brown;
• Light brown.

Throughout the body of the slug there are dots, stripes of white or black.

The large European slug does not like to change its habitat and rarely moves to different places on the site.

REFERENCE: The slug settles in greenhouses or wet lowlands, cellars.

Large roadside or leopard

The leopard slug is one of the largest mollusks: its body length can be about 20 cm. The body of a large roadside slug has a rounded shape. The back of the body is slightly pointed.

The color of the mollusk is varied: light gray, brown, yellowish and ashy. Black spots and stripes are scattered over the body of the slug.

The homeland of the large roadside slug is Europe. The largest number of individuals can be found in the North-Western and Central parts of Europe.

big spotted

The spotted slug is one of the largest representatives of its species. An adult can reach a length of 13 cm. A distinctive feature of the slug are small dots that cover its mantle. A black stripe also runs across the entire surface of the mantle. The body of the mollusk is oval, rounded at the ends.

The large spotted slug lives in Asia, as well as in southern Europe. The slug loves heat very much, so in cold areas it settles in greenhouses.

The mollusk feeds on a variety of vegetables, but gives special preference to mushrooms.

big black

The mollusk is the largest representative of the slug species in the world. In length, an adult reaches 30 cm. The mantle of a black slug is wide, covered with small light spots.

The mollusk lives in Western and Central Europe. He loves warmth, so in the northern regions he lives only in greenhouses.

The black slug feeds mainly on mushrooms, but it can also eat vegetables. Due to its large size, the pest is very voracious, therefore it causes great damage to the garden. The female lays up to 100 eggs at a time.

Ginger

The size of the red slug varies between 10-18 cm. The color of the body of the slug is very bright and varied. She happens:

• bright orange;
• Brick;
• yellow;
• Brown-green.

The mollusk lives in North America, as well as in Central, Eastern and Western Europe. It settles next to a person - in gardens, kitchen gardens, greenhouses.

red roadside

The red roadside slug lives in the warm countries of Europe. Another name for the mollusk is the Spanish or Louisiana slug. His homeland is Spain and Portugal.

The size of an adult is 9-11 cm, but it can reach 20 cm.

The color of the slug is monophonic, it can be red, yellow or orange. The body has long black antennae.

The red slug is omnivorous - it eats vegetables, fruits, berries and mushrooms. The roadside mollusk is very prolific, in one clutch there are up to 400 eggs. Mollusks are hermaphrodites, so even one slug that accidentally appeared on the site can bring out a whole colony.

IMPORTANT: In many countries, the red slug is listed in the Red Book.

The roadside slug lays eggs in spring and autumn. Young animals appear after 14 days, and after two months they turn into adults.

Cabbage

Cabbage slug causes great harm to cabbage seedlings. In length, the mollusk reaches 3-4 cm. The slug settles in cabbage heads and gnaws many passages in them.

The body is brown-brown. There are small spots on the mantle. The head and horns of the mollusk are darker in color.

The slug lives throughout Europe. It feeds mainly on cabbage, but can eat other vegetables and mushrooms.

Field

The length of the field slug grows from 3 to 4 cm. The color of the body varies from light brown to light gray. The body is wide in the middle and narrowed towards the ends.

The field slug lives in wet lowlands, meadows and forest edges. It feeds on plant shoots, leaves and wild berries. Very often, the mollusk moves to gardens and kitchen gardens, where it begins to eat vegetables and berries.

Smooth

A smooth slug reaches a length of 2.5 cm. The body can be black, brown or reddish. The body is in the form of a cylinder, slightly narrowed at the ends.

The mollusk loves moisture, therefore it lives near rivers, lakes, swamps and various reservoirs, as well as in wet meadows. In nature, it feeds on berries, mushrooms and rotten plants.

Forest

An adult can reach a length of 18 cm. The forest slug feeds on berries, plants and mushrooms. The mollusk reaches sexual maturity at a length of 3 cm.

The color of the forest slug is varied: it can vary from white to black. Juveniles are brown. With age, their color changes.

The forest slug lives in many European countries, on the Pacific coast and the British Isles.

In some countries, this mollusk is listed in the Red Book.

Banana

The banana mollusk is very large - it reaches 25 cm in length. The color of the slug is varied - bright yellow, white or green. There may be dark spots on the back of the mollusk. On the upper horns of the slug are the eyes, and the lower ones are responsible for the sense of smell. The homeland of the mollusk is North America, but it can also be found on the Pacific coast.

The banana slug feeds on mushrooms, rotten grass and lichens. It can also eat the feces of various animals.

In the laying of the mollusk is up to 75 eggs.

In winter, when the weather is hot and dry, the banana slug hibernates: it finds a damp, dark place and takes refuge there. To protect against drying out, the mollusk protects the mucus, which is abundantly secreted during hibernation.

red triangular

This species of slug is native to Eastern Australia. A distinct purple or red triangle is located on the mantle of the red-triangular slug. The color of the body of the mollusk is varied. She may be:

• Light pink;
• Milky white;
• Cream;
• Olive;
• Red.

Adult slugs are up to 15 cm long.

Mollusks live in moist forests and shady gardens. In its natural habitat, the red triangular slug feeds on lichens growing on eucalyptus trees.

orange or brown

A medium-sized slug grows up to 8 cm. The body is colored brown, dark red or orange and covered with wrinkles. The mollusk is not afraid of the cold, therefore it lives in all European countries and in Russia, including Siberia.

The brown slug lives in forest areas, can live in deciduous and coniferous forests. It feeds on fallen leaves, rotten plants, roots, carrion and mushrooms.

If the site is located next to the forest, the slug can move to the garden and harm cabbages, lettuces, tomatoes and potatoes.

Reticulate

A small slug grows no more than 2-3 cm. It is distinguished by its original color - a pattern of dark stripes in the form of a grid is located on the beige color. The mollusk lives in Eastern Europe, it can be found in Russia.

The slug lives in meadows, fields, orchards. The reticulated slug is the most dangerous pest because it feeds on almost all vegetables and berries. Cabbage brings the greatest harm, as it leads heads of cabbage to an unusable state.

Slugs are not only dangerous pests for the garden and vegetable garden. Some exotic mollusks, due to their original appearance, are even pets.

Slugs belong to the order - gastropods, there are many varieties of them. The most common species are field slug, net slug, and sometimes you can meet the blue slug.

The mollusk has a symmetrical, elongated, slightly elongated body. Can change shape due to muscle contractions. Like all representatives of the gastropods, the body of the slug has three sections: the head, legs and visceral mass.

If you look closely, you can clearly see the annular groove that separates the leg and body of the slug. The head is equipped with tentacles, they are responsible for smell and touch, leathery folds around the mouth.

An interesting fact: the mollusk has only one jaw, and the teeth are located on the tongue, their number is several thousand, and they work like a grater.

What does it breathe with

He breathes in an unusual way, the air passes into the lung through a hole in the back. It is located behind the head, in the form of an oblong shield, the role of which is to cover the lung (mantle cavity), equipped with a rather dense network of blood vessels.

Below the mantle is a thin, almost transparent plate (a rudimentary shell), which was left to the slugs as a memory from their ancestors from ancient times.

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What do they eat

Slugs bring tangible harm to agriculture, since they can serve quite a variety of food for food. Cucumbers grown in the field, cabbage, strawberries, beets, melons and wheat are the first to suffer. Also, slugs are frequent guests in the greenhouse, here they feast on tender sprouts of seedlings of vegetables and flowers, in the cellars they also eat root crops.

Slug varieties

Giant blue slug sometimes also called the "Carpathian slug", it got its name due to the limited area in which it can be found. It lives in deciduous and coniferous forests of the Carpathian Mountains on the territory of such countries as: Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic and Ukraine.

The intense blue color of the slug depends on the diet. In the natural environment, it feeds on blue russula. Such a feature, for an experienced mushroom picker, serves as a guide to find a clearing with russula.

It lives under a layer of foliage, the litter of dead moist bark serves as an excellent home.

After the slug lays its eggs (beginning of autumn), it dies. After overwintering, young individuals emerge from the eggs in spring. Comfortable conditions for them: air temperature from +18 to +22, and soil moisture 20-30%.

Therefore, decorative breeding at home for the blue slug is unacceptable.

field slug has a color from whitish to brown, the body is spindle-shaped (from 4 to 6 cm). Sometimes in natural nature inhabitant of wet meadows, valleys and forest edges. But a great appetite can bring him closer to a person: a garden, a vegetable garden, cultivated fields.

It eats: leaves, juicy young stems, fruits of wild and cultivated plants, especially loves strawberries.

reticulated slug can be identified by its characteristic color: the brown body is decorated with many white and black spots, has dark tentacles, its body length is from 2.5 to 3.5 cm. Habitats are very extensive: they hide among fallen leaves, in the upper layer of loose soil, under shrubs or thickets of moss. More often you can find slugs not one by one, but in whole groups. It is believed that such cohabitation can protect the mollusks from detrimental drying out. The mass accumulation of slugs in a certain area creates a special humid microclimate.

Living in the garden, it often eats cabbage, eating huge holes in the outer leaves, getting to the very head of cabbage. Under favorable weather conditions, it can cause significant damage to winter seedlings.

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You will be interested - all existing ways to deal with slugs

Slugs are one of the most common garden pests. It eats almost everything in its path: vegetables, leaves and stems of plants. Their natural enemies can join the fight against slugs in the garden. Let's see who eats slugs.

Many animals eat them:

Moles

Some types of rodents

Birds

Rooks

Thrushes

Jackdaws

Jays

Starlings

Wagtails

Amphibians

frogs

salamanders

reptiles

Video: A SMART WAY TO FIGHT SLUGS

lizards

Insects

Video: A SIMPLE, EFFECTIVE WAY TO FIGHT SLUGS on CABBAGE

It turns out that slugs are pretty tasty prey for many. How to deal with slugs, with the help of their natural enemies, some of them can be attracted to your garden plot. The first of the above list will come to the aid of hedgehogs and toads.

Toads and frogs will like it if your site is located nearby near some reservoir, if not, try to build its imitation with your own hands.

Now let's talk about hedgehogs, some hedgehog lovers have reported that hedgehogs love dog food. Take advantage of this knowledge, and you will have natural defenders of the garden. If you want to enlist the support of hedgehogs for a long time, make a shelter for them for the winter.

Make bird feeders for the winter, but in the summer they will simply fly to the site and eat the slugs.

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Ways to deal with slugs:

If you are not a fan of the above activities and do not intend to breed a "slug lovers" zoo, there are several other methods for dealing with slugs:

mechanical method

Phytochemical method

Folk remedies

mechanical method- this is the collection of slugs by hand or the preparation of traps for catching.

If you collect slugs by hand, use tweezers.

Take advantage of knowing what slugs like and don't like. Prepare your traps:

1. They love the smell of beer and fruit. Place linen, burlap, or cabbage leaves pre-soaked in beer or fruit juice between the beds. During the day, the slugs will fall into traps, and by the evening you will simply gather “invited guests”.
2. They do not like salt and soap. Dig small depressions between the rows of plants and set not very deep containers, which are filled with a strong solution of salt or soap. Cover the top with burlap or a rag. Slugs, falling into the solution prepared in this way, die.
3. They do not like dry porous material. Scatter crushed eggshells, broken shells, or fine gravel around the plants. The rough surface for slugs is not very pleasant, they cannot get to the plants.

Phyto method- the use of herbal scents:

1. Parsley
2. Bay leaf
3. santolin
4. Rosemary
5. Sage
6. Thyme
7. Lavender

Video: SLUGS - THE LAST IMPACT! SUPER TOOL!!!

Plant these herbs around the perimeter of the beds, and you will protect the plants from the encroachment of slugs and other pests.

You can also prepare a special phyto-tincture from mustard, hot pepper and garlic, which will scare away with its smell.

Chemical agents - are used as an extreme method, as they are poisonous to mollusks, and carry the danger of poisoning for pets and humans. Therefore, their use should be carried out under special control.

Of the chemicals, blue granules of metaldehyde are effective - "Thunderstorm" and "Meta". You can also spray the soil and plants with a 1% solution of iron or copper sulfate.

Attention, only TODAY!

As is known, the vast majority of gastropod mollusk species have a well-developed outer shell.

Nevertheless, there are numerous deviations from this original building plan within the class, associated with a certain way of life. In terrestrial creeping forms, the shell is often reduced and there is a change in the structural plan typical of gastropods. In this case, the body retains its usual appearance, but the visceral sac sinks into the thickness of the leg, and the animal acquires an elongated cylindrical or fusiform shape, flattened from the side of the sole. Such gastropods have long been called slugs.

Slugs are found among both marine and terrestrial molluscs. In this essay, we will consider land slugs from the order Geophila. Even within this order, slugs independently arose in different groups. It turns out that we call slugs mollusks of different origins that have acquired a similar structure under the influence of a similar lifestyle. Thus, strictly speaking, the slug is an ecological concept; such a life form arises in different groups of gastropods.

Outwardly, the body of slugs, unlike their closest relatives and ancestors - snails, is strictly symmetrical. However, the slugs inherited from asymmetrical snails the “wrong” position of the anus, excretory pore and genital opening, which lie on the right side. The body of slugs consists of a head, neck, mantle, back and foot with a sole. Among them there are both giants, whose length when moving exceeds 20 centimeters, and dwarfs - no more than 2 centimeters.

The head of slugs has a structure similar to that of snails. Ahead lies a mouth opening with folded lips, a duct of a gland that secretes mucus opens from below on the neck. A pair of labial tentacles is located near the mouth opening, and eye tentacles protrude in front and above, carrying eyes. The neck is the narrowed area of ​​the body between the head and the mantle. On the right side of the neck is the genital opening.

Unlike snails, in which the mantle lines the inside of the shell and covers the visceral sac, in slugs it looks like a flat thickening on the upper side of the body. Probably, everyone who saw slugs paid attention to the dense and usually darker “blotch” on the back of the mollusk compared to the color of the body. This is the mantle. Near the right edge of the mantle there is a breathing hole leading to the lung cavity. Land slugs of the order Geophila belong to the pulmonary gastropod molluscs. An anus and an excretory pore open near the respiratory opening on the right edge of the mantle.

Unlike land snails, in which only the shell can be brightly colored, and the body is usually black or gray without any pattern, the coloration of slugs is more diverse, both in color and due to the formation of a dark pattern on a light background. The most common types of coloration are black, dark gray, brown, reddish, ocher. The pattern may be spotted, consisting of large spots, dots, strokes, or form wide stripes along the back or on the mantle.

The entire body of mollusks is covered with mucus, which is secreted not only by special glands that open on the sole, but also by almost the entire surface of the body. The main part of the mucus (about 93%) is water, the remainder contains mineral salts, proteins and carbohydrates. Sometimes the mucus contains pigment, so the animals leave a colored trail behind them.

In the life of slugs, mucus plays a more important role than in snails. Its main purpose is to moisturize the skin. This is necessary to ensure skin respiration and to keep the integuments moist so that they can absorb water and restore the animal's water balance. In extreme heat, the secretion of mucus helps to reduce body temperature.

Mucus also protects the sole of the foot from friction during movement, washes away foreign particles and various microorganisms from the surface of the body. In many species, the mucus serves as a successful defense against predators, as it is often poisonous.

In the hot time of the day and in dry summers, many slugs hide in various shelters: under stones, in cracks in the soil, under lying tree trunks, boards and other objects. There they surround themselves with a cover of viscous mucus and wait out an unfavorable time. This is the basis for the method of catching slugs that harm various crops in gardens and orchards. You can lay out old boards, pieces of roofing material, fragments of slate on the territory of the site, and all the slugs will gather under these shelters. It is necessary to collect mollusks during the day, because at night they go out for prey.

The type of organization of land slugs has advantages over the organization of snails. This is also the opportunity to live or hide in such shelters as cracks in the soil, rocks, scree, to move underground along the passages made by earthworms, i.e. crawl into such shelters where snails with their large visceral sac covered with a shell cannot crawl through. In addition, snails expend a lot of energy on the muscular effort to maintain and control the shell. Slugs are relieved of this task and as a result are more mobile, making it easier to forage for food and find shelter.

Most slugs eat plant foods. Having stumbled upon some object, the animal feels it with its labial tentacles and determines whether it is suitable for food. If the "prey" suits the taste, the slug opens its mouth and puts forward a powerful tongue covered with a radula, or grater. The radula in different slugs has teeth that are completely different in number, size, location and shape. However, the mechanism of the grater is the same for everyone. The slug's head makes short pushes forward, and the radula scratches the surface of the plant. At the same time, the jaw, which is formed from a substance similar to chitin, presses a piece of food to the radula and, with its lower edge, helps to crush the food. Food particles are periodically pushed down the pharynx when the tongue is retracted.

However, there are many predators among slugs. Their radula works a little differently. The tongue of predatory slugs extends more strongly, the teeth of the radula move apart and pierce the body of the prey, which is usually soil worms. As the swallowed parts of the worm are digested in the slug's stomach, the radula does not release the prey and is slowly drawn into the pharynx, dragging the remains of the worm into it. In this case, the radula does not work like a grater, but rather like a harpoon.

Like the grape snail, the reproduction of slugs is accompanied by very interesting behavioral responses. Mating occurs most often at night, sometimes on damp, overcast days. This is usually preceded by marriage dances, but before dancing, you need to find a partner. And the slug, ready for breeding, starts searching. Fortunately, slugs have a good sense of smell and quickly find the slimy trail of another individual. Having found it, the slug is in no hurry (the girlfriend will not go anywhere!), but repeatedly lingers to eat the mucus left after her. Obviously, the composition of the mucus changes during certain periods of the slug's life and contains some substances that signal readiness for mating. After the meeting of partners, "marriage dances" begin. First, one slug pursues another for some time, and he allegedly tries to escape. Then both partners, snuggling, spin in place and soon connect, wrapping themselves around each other. During dances, slugs feel each other with tentacles and eat mucus from the surface of the body and the surrounding substrate. Some slugs have mating dances that last 12 to 24 hours.

Most slugs mate on the ground, rocks, and other horizontal surfaces, however, there are species in which this process occurs in a suspended state. Clams mate by clinging to tree branches, the underside of an overhanging rock, the ceiling of small caves. When they meet, these slugs also feel and lick each other, then intertwine their bodies and at the same time glue their hind ends to a branch or stone with mucus, hanging upside down in the air. Slugs are bisexual animals, therefore, when mating, they have a mutual exchange of sexual products. Usually, animals lay their eggs in cracks in the soil, at the foot of herbaceous plants, under stones and other objects lying on the ground, i.e. in places hidden from the light and sufficiently moist. Each slug lays eggs in portions - clutches, at certain intervals and in different places. The number of eggs in a clutch varies from species to species, for example, the net slug, an agricultural pest, can lay up to 500 eggs in a season, yellow and arion slugs up to 340, and some slugs only 40-50 eggs each. Eggs are laid during the warm season, but each species has its own preferred timing. Slugs, which usually lay their eggs in autumn, may wait until the following spring under adverse weather conditions.

Young slugs gnaw through the shell of the egg and come out. During the first days of life, they feed on these shells and dead eggs. Even from the same clutch, young slugs do not hatch at the same time. However, they immediately differ greatly in size. Further growth is also uneven. Obviously, this is due to an insufficient supply of nutrients in some eggs, which in turn may depend on the nutrition of the mother and her age. It has been established that in the clutch of older slugs, many eggs die, and ugly individuals emerge from some eggs.

The life expectancy of slugs of different species is different: there are species with an annual cycle, there are those that live for several years. Annual slugs have only one breeding season, after which, after laying eggs, they die. Perennials live 2.5-3 years and have two breeding periods.

Most species of slugs live in deciduous and mixed forests, in shaded places with rich and fairly moist litter or under dense grass cover, along ravines, along gorges and along forest rivers and streams. In coniferous forests and dry meadows, the number of slugs is very small. In a coniferous forest, they are found only in the presence of a large number of cap mushrooms and wet lichens, which they feed on. Probably, more than once you had to find a beautiful large mushroom, the hat of which was eaten by slugs. Often, he himself is found right there on the underside of the mushroom cap. On such bites, the stripes from the teeth of the radula are very clearly visible. Some species of forest slugs are found on tree trunks, where they feed on tree fungi, lichens, and rotting wood. Often they hide in the hollows of trees, in the crevices of the bark.

Vast open spaces occupied by planting crops, orchards and orchards, where the soil is periodically dug up, well moistened and densely covered with plants, are inhabited by synanthropic pitchforks of slugs. Many of them cause significant damage to plantings of cultivated plants, for example, the Caucasian slug in spring and autumn harms garden and melon crops, leading to a decrease in the yield of tomatoes by 37%, cucumbers by 43%, strawberries by 50%, and net slug (D. reticulatus) causes great damage to the crop of tomatoes and cabbage in central Russia. Slugs cause especially significant harm to winter wheat and rye, eating freshly sown grains and seedlings. In the first place among these pests is the field slug, besides it, the arion slug harms winter crops. Damage caused by slugs is easy to distinguish from traces of other pests. In the leaves, they gnaw irregularly shaped holes, leaving only the petiole and veins, and on root crops, potato tubers, strawberries, tomatoes and cucumbers - cavities of various shapes and sizes, on which traces of radula teeth are visible.

Slugs themselves have many enemies in nature. They feed on hedgehogs, moles, shrews, rooks, jackdaws, starlings and some gulls, and poultry - chickens and ducks. Many frogs, toads, lizards, snakes eat slugs. Among invertebrates, many insects feed on slugs, especially ground beetles, larvae of firefly beetles, and larvae of some blowflies. However, most insects prefer to eat snails rather than slugs. This, apparently, is explained by the fact that snails are not able to defend themselves so successfully with the help of mucus, as slugs do, sometimes sticking together the legs and parts of the mouth apparatus of predators.