Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 26, 2012 13:51:29 GMT
I got four individuals of Arion slugs, but I'm having trouble getting the exact species right. My first guess was the Spanish slug, A.vulgaris, because it is most common... but its juveniles are supposed to be stripy and I have one that looks like a juvenile size-wise but is coloured like the adults and subadults. Or would this slug be a subadult already, and thus no longer stripy? It's less than half the size of the biggest, maybe 1/3.
Every slug has a mite infestation so never mind the white dots that possibly show up in the photos... I only cleaned two of them last night, which was a bit silly given the two younger ones also had mites and now all four are ridden with the buffers once again. Ah well, shower time for the slugs once I've posted this.
A detail of interest for identification is the slime gland each slug has at the tip of its tail. Looking at pictures of Arion slugs last night I came to the conclusion that not all species have it. The slime from the gland is very thick and stringy, whilst the slime produced by the foot is much less sticky and I find the slugs much easier to pluck off surfaces and hands than my other slugs.
Three are reddish-brown with same colour "skirt" and almost black heads and tentacles, though the head appears to have reddish ridges. The "skirt" also has black stripes. The bottom of the foot is grey. The slime is a bit yellowish when there is a lot of it but I've not managed to get orangey slime out of the one I was prodding a bit, trying to get the irritated reaction. It seems to prefer to sleep, lol.
Here's some pics:
Juvenile?
Foot bottoms:
Tail slime glands:
Colour variation within population:
So what do you think? Spanish slug or something else? Of course a mating will confirm this... but they aren't mating or laying yet.
Every slug has a mite infestation so never mind the white dots that possibly show up in the photos... I only cleaned two of them last night, which was a bit silly given the two younger ones also had mites and now all four are ridden with the buffers once again. Ah well, shower time for the slugs once I've posted this.
A detail of interest for identification is the slime gland each slug has at the tip of its tail. Looking at pictures of Arion slugs last night I came to the conclusion that not all species have it. The slime from the gland is very thick and stringy, whilst the slime produced by the foot is much less sticky and I find the slugs much easier to pluck off surfaces and hands than my other slugs.
Three are reddish-brown with same colour "skirt" and almost black heads and tentacles, though the head appears to have reddish ridges. The "skirt" also has black stripes. The bottom of the foot is grey. The slime is a bit yellowish when there is a lot of it but I've not managed to get orangey slime out of the one I was prodding a bit, trying to get the irritated reaction. It seems to prefer to sleep, lol.
Here's some pics:
Juvenile?
Foot bottoms:
Tail slime glands:
Colour variation within population:
So what do you think? Spanish slug or something else? Of course a mating will confirm this... but they aren't mating or laying yet.
