Slug: Difference between revisions

Slugs' bodies are made up mostly of water and, without a full-sized shell, their soft tissues are prone to [[desiccation]]. They must generate protective mucus to survive. Many species are most active just after a rain because of the moist ground or during nighttime. In drier conditions, they hide in damp places such as under [[tree bark]], fallen [[Trunk (botany)|logs]], rocks and man-mademanmade structures, such as [[Flowerpot|planters]], to help retain body moisture.<ref name="biologists1"/> Like all other gastropods, they undergo [[torsion (gastropod)|torsion]] (a 180° twisting of the internal organs) during development. Internally, slug anatomy clearly shows the effects of this rotation—but externally, the bodies of slugs appear more or less symmetrical, except the [[pneumostome]], which is on one side of the animal, normally the right-hand side.

Beetles in the family [[Carabidae]], such as ''[[Carabus violaceus]]'' and ''[[Pterostichus melanarius]]'', are known to feed on slugs.<ref name=Paill2000>{{cite book |last1=Brandmayr |first1=P. |display-authors=etal |title=Natural History and Applied Ecology of Carabid Beetles |year=2000 |publisher=PENSOFT Publishers |location=Sofia, Moscow |pages=221–227 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=guGltcZwD4AC&q=slug+diet&pg=PA221 |last2=Paill |first2= W. |chapter=Slugs as prey for larvae and imagines of ''Carabus violaceus'' (Coleoptera: Carabidae) |access-date=15 August 2016|isbn=9789546421005 }}</ref><ref name=Syomndson2000>{{cite journal|last=Symondson|first=W. O. C.|author2=Glen, D. M. |author3=Erickson, M. L. |author4=Liddell, J. E. |author5= Langdon, C. J. |title=Do earthworms help to sustain the slug predator Pterostichus melanarius (Coleoptera: Carabidae) within crops? Investigations using monoclonal antibodies|journal=Molecular Ecology|year=2000|volume=9|issue=9|pages=1279–1292|doi=10.1046/j.1365-294x.2000.01006.x|pmid=10972768|s2cid=23921693}}</ref>Ants are a common predator of slugs; some ant species are deterred by the slug's mucus coating, while others such as [[driver ant]]s will roll the slug in dirt to absorb its mucus.