Types of slugs and how to deal with them. Slug species Gastropods blue slug

The body of a slug consists of three parts - a head, a torso with a mantle and a leg. The body is elongated, slightly flattened from top to bottom. The head is raised and clearly visible, she bears two pairs of tentacles - long, eyes and olfactory receptors sit on them, and short labials, which serve for touch and taste. Mouth in front of head.

Behind the head on the back is a convex "collar" - this is the mantle, inside which is the lung, and on the right side is a breathing hole. The anal opening is located nearby. The leg is the lower surface of the body on which the mollusk crawls.

The skin of the slug is thin, naked and always covered with mucus. The integument usually has a protective coloration- sandy, brown, gray, brown, and sometimes small white and black spots are distributed over a brown background.

The mucus helps the clams glide, cools them down, and protects them from enemies.

Sizes vary from 20 cm to 2 mm depending on the .

banana slug

big slug

naked slug

red roadside

forest slug

How do they reproduce?

Let's talk about how slugs breed. They are hermaphrodites by nature. each individual bears both the male and female reproductive system. But for laying eggs cross fertilization is necessary, so that the slugs find each other by scent, and after a short mating dance, which can be an interesting sight, they exchange sperm.

After that, each lays 20-30 eggs in moist soil. After 2-3 weeks, small slugs come out, which feed first on soil organic residues, and after 1.5 months they grow and begin to reproduce. After a single mating, egg laying continues for a month or longer. During the summer, each slug can lay up to 500 eggs.

In the middle lane, adult slugs, having laid their eggs for the last time, die in the fall. Eggs hibernate; in early June, juveniles appear and after a month of active feeding, they start breeding.

The life cycle, like the development cycle, can speed up or slow down depending on the weather. Sometimes slugs that have not had time to lay their eggs in the fall overwinter in the soil, and start laying in the spring.

What do slug eggs look like?

No deeper than 3 cm in fertile, moist soil in autumn you can see heaps of white, translucent eggs with a diameter of 1-2 mm.

Slug egg laying

habits

Slugs, lacking a protective shell, most dependent on humidity and temperature. The optimum temperature range is 15-19 degrees. Abundant humidity is also optimal, because slugs breathe not only lightly, but also through the surface of a wet body, so desiccation leads to death.

That's why these gastropods are nocturnal. During the day, after rain, they can also come out of hiding. In dry summers, they go into the soil and fall into temporary hibernation in a slime cocoon.

For the same reason, they love dense thickets. So weeding and loosening the soil makes life difficult for them.

Slugs crawl well, because they have a leg with strong muscles, and also retract their tentacles and roll into a ball when threatened.

What do slugs eat, why and where do they come from, and also who eats slugs in nature, read on.

Where do they come from in the garden?

The reasons for their appearance in the garden may be as follows. Slugs live in nature, maintaining the ecological balance of forest and field communities.

From there they willingly move on to cultivated plants, eating more than 150 species. Can be brought into the garden with new, infected plants.

Reproduction of slugs can become massive under favorable conditions, it is:

• warm wet spring;
• not hot rainy summer;
• warm wet autumn;
• mild winter.

Where live?

In the garden and garden, you can find slugs under large leaves, in shady damp thickets, in compost pits, where they feed on cut plants. In addition, they can settle in the cellar or basement.

What do they eat?

Many slugs eat mushrooms, plant debris, but prefer fresh succulent parts of plants, vegetables and berries, so the slug eats first. They eat mostly the healthiest plants.

In the mouth they have a jaw with a sharp chitinous edge and a tongue, chitinous- grater or radula. Rubbing plants, they leave visible traces in the form of cuts with even edges or depressions in the tubers of potatoes and other vegetables.

Slugs are not only capable of destroying crops, but can carry mold, bacterial and viral infections. If you are interested in the question: Do chickens or frogs eat slugs? That, read below.

And the thick layer of mucus that covers the plants after their raids pollutes and leads to decay.

There are plants that slugs eat first.(some can be used as bait):

• cabbage;
• lettuce (until it shoots and becomes bitter);
• strawberries;
• rape;
• dandelion;
• shepherd's bag;
• woodlice;
• cruciferous (except mustard).

Where and how long do they winter?

Slug eggs, and sometimes adults, those late in laying eggs due to the weather overwinter in fertile soil, no deeper than 3 cm from the surface.

What do they dislike and what are they afraid of?

Slugs can't stand direct sunlight dryness and high temperatures. Dry soil is the scourge of slugs, which is why morning watering is recommended, and not evening watering, when they start eating.

If the ground is strewn with something unsuitable for crawling - sharp gravel, ash, straw or needles, it is difficult for them to move.

Slugs, having an excellent sense of smell, some plants "can not stand the spirit."

About slugs, the layman's idea is rather boring, but are slugs so simple? The description of slugs will tell us about the appearance, lifestyle and habitats of creatures.

At the word "slug" everyone immediately has negative emotions. Who do we represent? A slimy, shapeless creature, disgusting to the touch, always crawling somewhere... but do we really think that nature is so stupid that it created a useless animal, good for nothing? Or do slugs have their own mission on our planet? Let's not argue, just let's study these creatures in more detail ... According to the scientific classification, slugs are representatives of the class of gastropods.

A feature of these creatures is that, unlike snails, their shell is either completely absent or reduced.

On our planet today there are several hundred different species of slugs, but they all represent one of three families: Soleolifera, Sigmurethra and Onchidiacea.

The body of slugs consists of one leg, also called the sole. It merges with the head of the clam. With the help of this organ, the animal feeds, moves, and reproduces. The upper side of the body is covered with a mantle, which is presented in the form of a plate. Under it are the anus and reproductive organs of the animal. In general, the body of slugs is symmetrical on both sides.

Two pairs of thin movable "horns" rise on the head of a banana slug.

As for the size of these creatures belonging to the gastropods, they cannot be called large. The average size of slugs is only a few centimeters. However, such representatives of these animals as the blue-black slug, banana slug and large roadside slug can grow up to 30 centimeters!

The color of slugs can be varied: from inconspicuous, almost transparent tones to bright, juicy shades. In nature, there are anthracite-black, bright yellow, orange-red, brown, chestnut body colors of slugs.

The habitat of these animals covers vast territories. They live in humid and temperate zones. They are found in Australia and New Zealand, North America, Central and Western Europe, and the Caucasus. Slugs take a fancy to forests, fields, meadows, caves and gardens.

These animals are rather slow, they make their movements due to the contraction of the foot-sole. And in order to avoid damage to this delicate organ, a special secret is secreted from the slug, which acts as a lubricant.

By the way, sometimes these secretions also serve as a deterrent "weapon" that helps prevent death in someone's mouth: the secret of some slugs has a very unpleasant odor, and this warns its natural enemies that it is not necessary to eat it!

Slugs feed mainly on plants. They eat foliage, soft stems, fruits and flowers. Some species diversify their diet with mushrooms. But there are also those who use living organisms as food: earthworms, small slugs, and sometimes even newborn mice and chicks!

Slugs breed once a year. All representatives of this group of animals are hermaphrodites. Each slug can lay up to 70 eggs. The development of embryos occurs about 5 weeks, after which small slugs are born, which are already fully formed. The life expectancy of slugs in nature is only 1 to 2 years.

The natural enemies of these gastropods are salamanders, ducks, storks, frogs, pigeons, raccoons, noses, chickens, waders, ...

And since garden slugs are omnivores, most garden and garden crops can become spoiled. Of course, it is impossible to describe all the known species of terrestrial slugs, since there are quite a lot of them. We collected the most famous and widespread. See photos of slugs with names in the material.

Slug species

Garden (garden)

They are also called naked slugs. They have an elongated body, which can change shape due to muscle contractions. The body is always moistened with mucus, which is constantly secreted.

The color is inconspicuous - grayish, yellowish and light brown. There is a grater on the tongue- a lot of small cloves of a solid consistency, arranged in rows.

At the front edge are tentacles, with visual organs located on them. Sizes are small - 25-30 mm.

This species can eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, especially tomatoes, strawberries, cabbage and strawberries. Distributed throughout Europe. Harms plants by eating leaves and stems, in fruits and vegetables makes holes. Thanks to his activity, the crop begins to rot, loses commercial and decorative qualities.

Active in cloudy and rainy weather, at night and early in the morning. It hides from the sun in damp lowlands, under earthen clods.

In constantly wet areas(groundwater is almost on the surface, floodplains) there is an increased fertility. One adult is capable of laying 300-400 eggs. They hibernate in the ground, the young come out in the spring.

Naked

Small (up to 70 mm in length) and the most frequent visitor to gardens. Absolutely omnivorous, can eat almost any plants.

Scientists have found that in the diet of a voracious slug includes more than 160 types of crops. Outwardly, it is completely inconspicuous, due to the coloring it is difficult to detect.

The body may be brownish., gray or beige color with yellow and white tints. The mantle is weakly expressed, it is almost invisible on the body.

The body is richly lubricated with mucus, which is secreted more than in other species. His stay is not hard to find due to the large number of slimy paths left by him.

You can meet this species in almost any part of Europe. What is not surprising - after all a naked slug is fertile enough for this.

Big European

One of the largest pests of this family. big slug boasts a length of up to 150mm. The coloring is also quite unusual.

Over the main background color (gray or brown, sometimes light brown) there are stripes and spots of different colors from light, almost white to jet black.

What are the big slugs look at the photo.

European resident who doesn't like to move at all and change habitat.

Most often settled in greenhouses and wet cellars and spends their whole life in them. It is omnivorous and non-capricious, it can eat any available vegetables, mushrooms and fruits of fruit trees.

Large roadside or leopard

The body length can grow up to 20 cm. One of the largest representatives of slugs. Body shriveled, mostly rounded, only in the back is pointed at the end.

The base color can vary from light gray to chestnut, with ashy and yellowish slugs often found. Black spots and stripes are scattered throughout the body..

What a large roadside slug looks like, see the photo below.

It lives in Europe, which is its homeland, especially in the Central and Northwestern parts.

Its main feature is the method of mating. Adults attach to trees or other suitable support with the help of thick strands of mucus and hang down. It looks like they are floating in the air.

big spotted

A large member of the family, which can reach 130 mm in length. It is distinguished by the presence of small black dots and specks. covering the mantle.

In addition, it also has a longitudinal black stripe running across the entire surface. body shape oval, rounded at the ends.

Distributed in the southern part of Europe and in Asia, as it is quite thermophilic. Can grow in greenhouses in colder areas and other warm areas.

Eats a variety of vegetables, but most of all loves mushrooms, especially champignons.

The damage is quite serious due to the large size and a fairly long period of life of 3-4 years.

big black

The biggest black slug in the whole world, which reaches 300 mm in length. The black slug has a black mantle, adorned around the edges with small light speckles.

Sole in two colors - gray on the sides and black in the center. The color of the body can differ even within the same family and vary from monophonic to decorated with a wide variety of patterns.

The black slug lives in Europe, most common in Western and Central. In the Northern regions, it can only live in greenhouses.

Black slug photo.

It feeds mainly on mushrooms, will not give up vegetables. In the absence of a favorite food, lichen can be eaten. The large size of the body determines the great appetite and the great harm caused by the gluttonous giants.

There may be about 100 eggs in a clutch.

Ginger

Differs in medium size, the usual length is about 100 mm, but sometimes grows up to 180 mm. Has a very bright body color- brick, less often yellow, brownish-green or black.

Lives in Western, Eastern and Central Europe, North America. Listed in the Red Book in many countries.

In nature, lives next to a person, settling in the fields, in gardens, less often can be found in wooded areas, again close to human habitation.

red roadside

The people are also called Spanish and Lusitanian. Brought to Russia by accident lives in warm regions of Europe.

Portugal and Spain are considered its homeland. It can reach 200 mm, but this is rare. The average length of adult slugs is 9-11 cm.

The color is monophonic, usually red, brick, orange. The mantle and torso are colored the same. The horns are black. The body is completely covered with wrinkles.

It is omnivorous, eating fruits, berries, flowers, and vegetables from the garden. Likes mushrooms. Very prolific species. All adult slugs are hermaphrodites.

Mating, they mutually fertilize each other and lay eggs in 5-6 days in an amount of up to 400 pieces each. Unlike other varieties, egg laying occurs in spring and summer, young slugs "hatch" in a couple of weeks. Grow 2 months to the status of "pubescent adult".

Cabbage

Despite the relatively short length(3-4 cm), these slugs cause significant harm to all types of cabbage. They settle on heads of cabbage and begin to gnaw through many passages inside, not content with spoiling the outer leaves.

The body and mantle are brown or brown in color. with darker spots. The spots are not pronounced, arranged in random order. The sizes are varied. The horns and head are slightly darker.

They are found throughout Europe, excluding the most northern regions. Feeds mainly on cabbage, but with a lack of favorite food, it can eat mushrooms, various vegetables and leaves.

Field

The mollusk is small in size, growing in length by 3-4 cm. Coloring is inconspicuous and inconspicuous, varies from light gray to light chestnut.

Usually monophonic both on the body and on the mantle. Body shape is like a spindle- it is wide in the middle and narrowed towards the ends.

Lives throughout Europe. Lives on the edges of the forest, in constantly wet lowlands and meadows. Often moves to gardens, cultivated fields and vegetable gardens.

Feeds on young shoots, foliage, fruits and vegetables. Favorite food is strawberries.

Smooth

A small mollusk growing up to 25 mm in length. The mantle is located on the upper half of the body. The color is always monophonic, the color can be brown, reddish, black. Shape cylindrical, the ends are narrowed.

Lives in Europe, including the CIS countries. Settles in always wet meadows, near various reservoirs and swamps. Differs in increased moisture-loving, resistant to cold.

Feeds on various berries severely damages plants in greenhouses, in nature eats mushrooms and rotten plants.

Forest

A forest slug can grow up to 15 cm in length in its lifetime., and puberty occurs already at a length of 3 cm. Young individuals are always painted in a chestnut color, which most often changes.

The color of adult slugs is very diverse and varies from milky white to blue-black.

The habitat is very extensive and includes the British Isles., throughout Northern Europe and the Pacific Northwest.

In food unpretentious, almost omnivorous. Can feed on live and half-decayed plants, any mushrooms, carrion.

In Ireland, Germany and the UK, it is listed in the Red Book.

Banana

It has a huge size, slightly short of the black slug. Its body length is about 250 mm. A striking feature is its color.

Most often it is a bright yellow color, but some individuals are colored white or green. Usually the color is monophonic, sometimes dark specks are scattered on the back. The eyes are on the upper horns., and the lower, shorter ones, have olfactory receptors.

The banana slug is native to North America., they can be found along the Pacific coast, all the way to Alaska.

Its diet contains mushrooms, lichens and rotten grass, as well as the feces of various animals. Depending on the prevailing food, body can change color.

After fertilization, the average clutch is 70-75 eggs. The dormant period is in winter when the temperature gets high and the weather is dry.

At this time, the slugs find a dark, damp place and hibernate. Mucus saves them from drying out, regularly allocated for protection.

red triangular

Another exotic guest, this time from Eastern Australia. Appearance is somewhat different from other slugs. It has 2 tentacles instead of 4.

And besides, it is decorated with a clear red or purple triangle on the mantle. The color of the body is very diverse, there are pale pink, milky white, dark or light cream, olive and red individuals.

The large size (up to 150 mm) allows you to take a good look at this handsome man.

For living chooses always wet shady gardens and forests, wastelands. Often they make their way into residential buildings, striving for bathrooms, where mold eats. In nature, it eats tree lichens, especially on eucalyptus trees.

orange or brown

It has a medium size, growing by 80 mm. The body is colored orange, brown or dark red. The mantle is smooth and occupies a third of the body. The body itself is covered with folds and wrinkles..

Not afraid of the cold distributed in Europe, including Northern part and Siberia in Russia. He chooses forest zones for living; deciduous, mixed, and purely coniferous forests are suitable for him.

Sometimes it can be found in overgrown parks or in an old cemetery, where there are usually many trees.

It feeds at night, looking for rotten and dead roots, carrion, fallen leaves and any mushrooms. If the cottage or plot is located next to the forest, the slug will definitely move to you, actively causing damage to lettuce, cabbage and other vegetables.

Reticulate

A small mollusk that grows 2-3 cm from strength. The color of the body is specific - on a beige background there is a pattern in the form of a grid, which is formed from crossed thin strips of dark color. The pattern is most pronounced on the back and mantle. The tentacles are usually black.

It is found in Eastern Europe, including Russia and the CIS countries. Settles in open areas- garbage dumps, meadows, fields and gardens. Prefers clay soil. It does not happen in forest zones, does not like lush shrubs.

In addition, with an abundance of rain attacks for winter crops.

Conclusion

Despite the harmfulness, gastropods are very popular in modern society. Horned slugs are kept in apartments as pets.

In addition, they appear in computer games (for example, the Royal Slug in Terriak) and as characters in books (the Horned Slug is used as an ingredient in magic potions).

Useful video!

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An unpleasant, but familiar situation to many owners of personal plots: you go out in the morning to your caressed and well-groomed green "kingdom", and there, as if sloppy and impudent guests took over. The berries are bitten, the fruits are undermined, the vegetables are also damaged. And on top of that, all the berry-fruit and vegetable yummy is smeared with a nasty slimy coating. Congratulations! Your site was chosen by new residents whom you did not call, but they came and feasted well at night.

This is a common practice for slugs. They are awake at night, during the day they hide from the sun's rays under the leaves of plants, and in the morning you can only lament the results of their feasts. Finding the harmful guests themselves is not so easy, but traces of their presence remain everywhere and everywhere. These insects are omnivorous and do not disdain practically any plantings in the garden and vegetable garden. There are a huge number of varieties of slugs, but there are several types of the most numerous and famous.

Garden (garden) slug

In another way, he is also called naked. The elongated body of the slug is small (25-30 mm) and wet all the time, as it secretes lubrication (mucus) around the clock. And he is able to change the shape of the body, reducing the muscles. This species has an unremarkable inconspicuous color:

Grayish.

Yellowish.

Pale brown.

In the mouth opening there is a tongue with rows of many teeth, resembling a grater. In the front of the body there are tentacles, and on them are the organs of vision.

You can meet the garden slug throughout the European territory. The diet includes any fruits, vegetables and berries, but they are especially fond of:

tomatoes

Strawberry

strawberries

Cabbage.

The slug eats both stems, and leaves, and fruits. In the latter, he makes holes-moves, the plants begin to rot, lose their marketable and aesthetic appearance.

It is most active if the weather is damp and gloomy, at night and in the pre-dawn hours of the morning.. It hides from the scorching sun under soil lumps, in lowlands with high humidity, in places shaded by plant leaves.

In areas where the level of humidity is constantly high (near rivers and places where groundwater is on the surface itself), they breed especially a lot. The female slug lays up to four hundred eggs at a time.. After wintering underground, young individuals get out with the advent of spring.

This is not a very large representative of the slug family, 60-70 mm and the most ardent supporter of vegetable gardens and orchards. It is this species that is most common in farmland.. It eats absolutely any planting. The menu of his preferences includes more than 160 cultures. The appearance of the slug is inconspicuous. The body may have a brownish, grayish or beige tint with white or yellow patches.

This species secretes a lot of mucus to lubricate the body, much more than other varieties. Its secretions are so abundant that in places where the slug crawls, slimy paths remain. The naked species is widespread throughout Europe, due to its great fecundity.

This mollusk is small, up to 30 mm, and is colored quite specifically. The main background is beige, a grid pattern of thin dark stripes is drawn on it.. The mesh on the dorsal part and the mantle is especially pronounced. The tentacles are usually uniform, black.

They inhabit the territory of Eastern Europe, including the Russian Federation and the CIS. Forests do not favor, as well as areas with lush shrub vegetation, but garbage dumps, fields, meadows, vegetable gardens are just right for him. The reticulated view is called the most harmful. Its activity leads to significant crop losses, especially cabbage plantations. He brings heads of cabbage into complete disrepair due to numerous gnawed internal passages. If the summer is rainy, it can make an invasion of winter crops.

This species is one of the largest. The mollusk can grow up to 15 cm in length. In addition, the European slug has an extraordinary appearance: it looks like a cheetah in color, the same light background and black spots.

The big slug is lazy as hell. He really dislikes movement and change of habitat.. Having settled in a greenhouse or cellar, he will spend the rest of his life there. In food addictions unpretentious, eats everything. that "under the arm" will fall, including mushrooms and roots.

Orange (brown) slug

It is considered medium-sized, 70-80 mm. It has an orange, rusty or brown body with folds and wrinkles. But the mantle, which occupies a third of the body, is smooth. This species is adapted to the cold, therefore it inhabits the European north, all regions of Siberia, choosing forests of any type (coniferous, mixed, deciduous). Sometimes it is found in the territories of old cemeteries, where there are many tree plantations or unennobled park areas.

Nocturnal, awake from sunset to dawn. P eats carrion, rotten roots, mushrooms, fallen leaves. In garden plots located near forests, it will definitely choose a place for itself in order to destroy plantings of cabbage, lettuce and other vegetable crops.

Large roadside (leopard) slug

One of the big ones. Wrinkled, rounded body up to 200 mm long with a pointed posterior end. The background color is light, from pale gray to ash chestnut, with black spots, like a leopard.

The homeland of the roadside mollusk is Europe, especially its Central and North-Western part. The main feature of the species is an unusual way of mating. Sexually mature individuals are fixed on a tree or any support with the help of the same irreplaceable mucus, formed into a thick, strong tourniquet. Slugs hang on such "swings" as if floating in the air.

This comrade belongs to exotic species. Its homeland is Eastern Australia. Its appearance is quite different from other species:

There are only 2 tentacles on the body (the rest have 4).

Bright, noticeable color (pale pink, white, red, olive, cream).

A clear purple robe in the shape of a triangle.

The sizes are large enough to examine the mollusk carefully, 14-15 cm. Like all slugs, it loves moisture, settles in shady bushes of gardens and forests. Very often seeks to get into a residential building, or rather, a bathroom. It lives there, eating mold. In the wild, it is able to eat lichens on trees, especially eucalyptus trunks.

It grows up to 13 cm in length and is covered with small black dots on the mantle. The oval body is decorated with longitudinal dark stripes. The creature is quite thermophilic, therefore it prefers to live in southern European regions and the territory of Asia. In areas with a colder climate, it can settle exclusively in greenhouses, hotbeds. He loves to eat mushrooms (mushrooms are a special love) and various vegetable crops.

Since it has a considerable size, the damage is not small. The life expectancy for a mollusk is impressive - 3-4 years.

It has a huge size, only slightly inferior to the giant representative, as much as 25 cm. A distinctive feature of the banana mollusk is the color. Bright, yellow (rarely green or white), monophonic. Only sometimes with a dark dorsal speck. The upper horns are equipped with visual organs, and the lower ones with olfactory ones.

The banana species inhabits North America, from Alaska to the Pacific coast. Despite the name, the slug does not eat bananas, but mushrooms, rotting grass, lichens and animal excrement.. From the composition of the diet changes color.

During fertilization, the female lays up to 75 eggs, which overwinter in a dark, damp place. Adults are also dormant during dry climates and high temperatures. A regularly released lubricant prevents the mollusk from drying out during hibernation.

This is the largest mollusk from the slug family that exists on the planet. The length of his body is 30 cm. According to the name, this species is jet black, with a black mantle, only along the edges with a small interspersed with small light dots.. The lower part (sole) is two-tone: black center and gray sides.

The birthplace of the black giant is Europe (mainly Central and Western). In the northern parts can only survive in greenhouse conditions. Egg laying up to 100 eggs.

The diet is mushroom, not averse to eating vegetables. If there is no usual food, then it is able to eat lichens. Giant size implies a corresponding appetite. Therefore, the damage from the mollusk is colossal.

Interesting representative. For the biological cycle it reaches 15 cm, and is able to reproduce at only 3 cm in length. Juveniles have a chestnut color that changes as they mature.. The older generation has a wide range of colors: from milky to anthracite.

Eats everything: mushrooms, carrion, plants, both living and rotting. Great Britain, Germany and Ireland listed the forest slug in the Red Book due to the small number of the species. The general distribution area is extensive:

British Isles.

Northern Europe.

Northwest Pacific coast.

A bright colorful representative of mollusks, ranging in size from 10 to 18 cm. Can be brick rich color, yellow, green, black. Almost in all countries of habitat it is listed in the Red Book as a rare species. Distribution zone:

All parts of Europe except Northern.

North America.

It always coexists with a person, populating fields, orchards, orchards. Sometimes lives in forest areas, but only near human presence.

A small mollusk, only 2.5 cm. A cylindrical body with narrowed ends is always of the same color: brown, black, red. Resident of the European part of the continent, including the territory of the CIS. Likes swampy terrain or the proximity of water bodies of any origin. It is more moisture-loving than other species, adapted to cold weather.

In the wild, it eats mushrooms, rotting plants, berries; it is dangerous for humans because of its proximity to greenhouse crops, which it greatly harms.

Red roadside slug

The people call him Spanish or Lusitanian. It was accidentally brought to the territory of Russia. The main habitat is European regions with a warm climate, while Spain and Portugal are considered their homeland. The size of the wrinkled body is average - 90-110 mm, rarely grows up to 200 mm.

The main color is monochromatic, including the color of the mantle. There are orange, red, brick. The red species is a hermaphrodite, while being very prolific. During mating, mutual fertilization occurs, on 5-6 days oviposition of 350-400 eggs, after 14-15 days the appearance of new individuals. They become sexually mature in a couple of months.

They eat any vegetation: berries, fruits, flowers, vegetables, mushrooms.

Small molluscs 3-4 cm long, with an inconspicuous, inconspicuous color: from pale gray to faded chestnut. The spindle-shaped body is narrowed at the ends. Inhabits all of Europe along forest edges and meadow lowlands with obligatory humidity of the territory. A frequent guest in gardens, fields and orchards.

The most favorite delicacy is strawberries. From the rest of the diet: young shoots of plants, vegetables, fruits, foliage.

With relatively small sizes (30-40 mm), they cause great harm to cabbage plantings. Having settled inside the head of cabbage, the mollusk begins to gnaw passages up and down, not limited only to damage to the outer leaf. The color of the body and mantle is the same, brown or brown, dark spots of various sizes are possible without a clear color transition. The color of the horns and head is slightly darker than the body.

Habitat throughout Europe, except for the northernmost regions. The shortage of favorite cabbage as food is successfully compensated by mushrooms, vegetables and leaves.

Slugs as a pet and other usefulness

Yes, yes, imagine that the fashion for keeping exotic pets has not bypassed this mollusk. Slugs have gained a lot of popularity in the pet market. These horned creatures live in apartments as pets and even appear as characters in computer toys and works of art. For example, there is the game "Royal Slug in Terriak", and in the books about the famous Harry Potter, the Horned Slug is used to make a magic potion.

And so it happened that the enemy of gardeners and gardeners became loved by people who are far from hobbies in crop production.. And yet the slug is a pest, although sometimes quite attractive in appearance and unusual in size.

Video "Leopard Slug"

Coriander is one of the most popular spices in the world, and its greens are called cilantro or cilantro. Interestingly, cilantro leaves no one indifferent. Some people adore it and are happy to use it in any salads and sandwiches, and they love Borodino bread for the special flavor of coriander seeds. Others, referring to the smell that evokes associations with forest bugs, hate coriander and flatly refuse to approach bunches of cilantro even in the market, let alone plant it in their garden.

Watermelon and summer are inseparable concepts. However, not in every area you will find melons. And all because this African plant takes up a lot of space, is quite demanding on both heat and the sun, and also on competent watering. But still, watermelon is so loved that today not only southerners, but much more northern summer residents have learned to grow it. It turns out that you can find an approach to such a capricious plant, and if you want, you can get a decent harvest.

You can cook red gooseberry jam in 10 minutes. However, it should be borne in mind that this is the time required for cooking jam without preparing berries. It takes a lot of time to harvest and prepare berries for processing. Cruel thorns discourage any desire to harvest, but you still have to cut off your noses and tails. But the result is worth it, the jam turns out to be excellent, one of the most fragrant, in my opinion, and the taste is such that it is impossible to tear yourself away from the jar.

Monsters, anthuriums, caladiums, dieffenbachia ... Representatives of the Aroid family are considered one of the most popular categories of indoor plants. And not the last factor of their wide distribution is diversity. Aroids are represented by aquatic plants, epiphytes, semi-epiphytes, tuberous and vines. But despite such a diversity, because of which it is sometimes difficult to guess the relationship of plants, aroids are very similar to each other and require the same care.

Salad "Donskoy" for the winter - a savory appetizer of fresh vegetables in a sweet and sour marinade with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. In the original recipe, the vinegar is plain or apple, but with a combination of wine vinegar and light Balsamico, it turns out much tastier. Salad can be prepared without sterilization - bring the vegetables to a boil, put them in sterile jars and wrap them warmly. You can also pasteurize blanks at a temperature of 85 degrees, then cool quickly.

The main collected mushrooms: porcini, boletus, boletus, chanterelles, boletus, mossiness mushrooms, russula, milk mushrooms, volnushki, saffron mushrooms, honey mushrooms. Other mushrooms are collected depending on the region. And their name (other mushrooms) is legion. As well as mushroom pickers, which are becoming more and more every year. Therefore, there may not be enough for all known mushrooms. And I know for sure that among the little-known come across very worthy representatives. I will tell you about little-known, but tasty and healthy mushrooms in this article.

The word "ampel" comes from the German word "ampel", meaning a hanging container for flowers. Fashion for hanging flower beds came to us from Europe. And today it is very difficult to imagine a garden where at least one hanging basket was not found. In response to the growing popularity of container floriculture, a large number of ampelous plants have appeared on sale, whose shoots easily fall outside the pots. Let's talk about those that are valued for their beautiful flowers.

Apricots in syrup - fragrant apricot compote with cardamom from peeled fruits. These are very useful preparations for the winter - bright and beautiful halves of canned apricots can be used to make fruit salads, desserts or decorate cakes and pastries. There are many varieties of apricots, for this recipe I advise you to choose ripe, but not overripe fruits, from which it is easy to get a stone so that the peeled slices retain the correct shape.

Today, in pharmacies, you can buy a lot of all kinds of medical preparations of general strengthening, tonic action, which are used for colds. Despite this, I always harvest nettles and St. John's wort for the winter on my own, as I consider them indispensable medicinal herbs for the prevention and treatment of colds and many other diseases. What exactly these plants are valuable for, how and when to collect, dry, store and prepare healing infusions, I will tell in the article.

Among species orchids, phalaenopsis are real Spartans. And one of the most hardy species is the four-shield phalaenopsis, or Tetraspis. He is content with minimal care, is not capricious at all, easily adapts. And, unfortunately, almost completely disappeared from the windowsills. Varietal hybrids with their spectacular flowering are found at every step, but you will have to hunt for each specific specimen. But if you like the exotic, then Phalaenopsis tetraspis is worth it.

Boiled chicken stew with vegetables is a delicious hot dish that is very easy to prepare from available ingredients. Both adults and children will like this dish, it can also be included in a not very strict diet menu when you need to eat something hearty, while not fried and not greasy. The recipe for stewed boiled chicken can be categorized as "healthy recipes"! Legs or thighs are ideal for cooking, and the breast fillet will turn out dry, it is better to make cutlets out of it.

I fell in love with roses fifteen years ago. My first roses often upset me: either with multi-colored spots on the leaves, or with a white powdery coating of powdery mildew, or with some other nuisance. What I just didn’t do to treat rose bushes and prevent diseases ... For the last five years, fungal diseases in my area have happened only twice and did not have time to cause any harm to the rose garden. I will share the secrets of preventing fungal infection in the rose garden.

Fragrant fragrant apricots with delicate velvety skin and pulp melting in the mouth are loved by adults and children. They make excellent jam, marmalade, dried fruits and juices. Not surprisingly, apricot trees are grown in almost every garden in regions with suitable climates. In this article we will tell you which varieties of apricot are best suited for central Russia. In addition, the material will discuss how to properly care for the plant.

Puff pies with sorrel from ready-made yeast-free puff pastry - crispy, ruddy, piping hot, and on your table. You don’t need a lot of sorrel for the filling, you can even mix it with fresh spinach, it will be delicious! Sorrel adds sourness to the traditional egg and onion filling for puff pastries. Remove puff pastry from the freezer 30 minutes before cooking and leave at room temperature so that it thaws a little and becomes pliable.

Among the huge community of indoor representatives of the Aroid family, the syngonium is the only plant that cannot boast of an increase in popularity in the last decade. Everyone seems to have forgotten about this vine. Perhaps due to the rather capricious nature of syngoniums or their similarity with many large-leaved houseplants. But not a single indoor liana can boast of such variability. This is one of the most modest vines, but non-standard.