When I spotted this in the garden, while moving stuff around, and thought it would make a colourful macro subject for todays 365 post, I had no idea just how much of an interesting story lies behind him.
I took some shots, and then tried to identify him. That will be easy I thought, his bright colours, and very large size would soon narrow it down. I tried a reference book and then on-line guides, no go.
Eventually I found him. He is a Spanish Slug (Arion vulgaris), and he should not be here. He is an alien species, and was first seen in 2012 on the East coast of England, in Norfolk I think. I live near the North West coast, about 150 miles away,which is a long way to slide in three years so I have absolutely no idea what he is doing in my garden.
It is thought they could have been imported on trees or other vegetation.
They are very large, stretched out they can reach almost 5 inches, so no danger of one hiding in your salad. They will also eat all sorts of different foodstuffs, including native slugs and snails.
They can also out breed native species which normally lay between 150- 300 eggs. The Spanish Slug can lay 2,000- 5,000 eggs.
The bit of slug with the hole on is called the Mantle, the hole is the Breathing Pore, which it uses for breathing.
The link will take you back to the first shot....
http://365project.org/markp/365/27-10-2015
