Most garden slugs and snails are gray, dull-orange, or dark brown and 1 to 3 inches long. Of course Eenie and his companion snails are rather colourful – more like those from Cuba with gorgeous rainbow and mixed colours that can give beautiful energetic glows to all around!
As slugs and snails generally hide in dark, damp places during the day the garden is likely to have more slugs during a particularly rainy season.
The main difference, of course, that we have also explained on the website between slugs and snails is that snails have an obvious shell, which is primarily made up of calcium carbonate. This is a hard substance found in rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite and is the main component of eggshells, seashells and pearls – as well as snail shells.
Both slugs and snails leave a slimy secretion – slime!— where they have been, so even if you cannot see them, you will know that they are there. Look for slime both on plants and surrounding soil. It is easiest to see their trails of slime first thing in the morning.
Slugs and snails are not insects; they are soft-bodied mollusks, which are amazing invertebrate animals that have evolved over a long, long time! Slugs and snails are members of what we learn in science to be the phylum Mollusca, along with the ocean dwelling giant squid, the periwinkle, and the steamer clam. Unlike seagoing mollusks, these landlubbers have only a single lung.
Slugs and snails are called hermaphroditic – this means that each individual has both male and female reproductive organs. So their love life relationship is quite complicated. For example, the common gray garden slug is known to dance an elaborate, hour-long nuptial waltz before mating, whereas other species have been found to perform acrobatic movements while also hanging suspended from threads of slime! How clever is that!
Happy, happy spring and do look for the beautiful signs of new life all around – with Eenie and his companions In Eenie’s World! If you also want to read more about the Beetle of the Month please click below!
