Mansfield & Ashfield Local Members Group

SLUGS
a presentation by Chris du Feu

21 February 2005

“They’re not all black, slimy and revolting; they come in different colours” Chris du Feu

We learned many useful things at the talk given to the Mansfield and Ashfield group of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust.

~ Slugs are hermaphrodite and sexual exhibitionists.
~ They breathe and excrete though the same hole in their body!!
~ Slugs are not cuddly.
~ Slugs were compared to octopus as they have evolved from having an outer shell to moving it inside in the majority of types.
~ There are at least 36 species in Britain, 2 of which have only been discovered in the last 2 years.
~ There are probably more to come.
~ There are many colours and types of marking. Some can be individually identified.
~ They are not all pests, some are positively beneficial to mankind as they eat and/or recycle unwanted garden waste or pests – others are benign.
~ Many are nocturnal.

Slugs are under-recorded but from the records that have been, and are being, kept it is becoming apparent that their distributions are changing rapidly, partly because of climate change and partly because of human behaviour.

Apparently the loveliest creature on God’s earth is the tree slug! (I am yet to be convinced) These are found in damp ancient woodland and are not common in the East Midlands, but can be found in Treswell woods near Retford. They climb to great heights and graze on lichen, hence very beneficial to trees. Their bodies lose moisture through evaporation and so can only exist in damp woodland that is at least 100 metres wide due to the drying effects of wind.

In contrast our speaker was not sure why God had invented some of the keeled (ridge on back to tail) species, although there is one “nice” one who is a carnivore!

The one to bet on in slug races is the deroceras panormitanum – very speedy.

Do rub the orange mucus from the arion subfuscus into your hands as it is guaranteed to rejuvenate them.

They do not have many predators, probably as they are well protected by sticky mucus. One of the participants told of witnessing a thrush eating his weight in yellow slugs some years ago. This is probably a rare sight as those slugs are nocturnal and the thrush, of course, is not.

We had been encouraged to bring our own slugs to identify and record, particularly as they are under recorded. There was great excitement as two specimens of the Spanish slug, lehmannia valentiana, were produced from a local compost heap. They were pronounced to be not only the first recorded specimens in the County, but also, the finest markings Chris had ever seen on that species. History and art in the making – photos will be published in due course. Look for the two black lines down the back. This species of slug has only been able to survive in Britain for the last 30 years as they cannot survive cold winters. Global warming has improved their lot and they are being recorded further north each year.

It was a fascinating evening. Slug spotting should be the next popular activity for naturists, or do I mean naturalists – always get them mixed up. There is to be a field trip to Treswell Woods on Saturday May 21 st. Contact the Trust for more details.

“I took some from the freezer that I had a lot of” Chris du Feu

Carol Pritchard

Further Comments from Webmaster

We have access to various documents that Chris used during his talk to identify particular species of slug, if you would like copies of these please email the webmaster with your full postal details and we will arrange a copy to be sent to you. All donations in regard to the cost of photocopying are gratefully received. He has also provide a copy of the distribution maps in PDF format suitably updated to reflect our successes last night. Click on the this link to download them. If you need Adobe Acrobat Reader please click here

There will also be some of Chris's photographs put into a gallery within the next week or so, well worth a look, though probably not just before or just after a meal. Chris will also be happy to hear from anyone with an interesting sighting again drop a line to the webmaster and I will put you in touch with him.

I have also left Chris's guide to catching and caring for slugs in anticipation of identification. Click here to see the page. - Happy Slugging

Feedback from Chris