urbpan: (Snail)
urbpan ([personal profile] urbpan) wrote2006-08-19 10:07 pm

365 Urban Species. #230: Leopard Slug


Photos by [livejournal.com profile] urbpan. Location, on a European beech tree, in the Riverway, Boston.

Urban species #230: Leopard Slug Limax maximus

It's no banana slug, but the leopard slug is an impressive animal nonetheless. Stretching out thin to nearly six inches long, it is easily the largest terrestrial mollusk found in eastern North America. It's bold patterns and large size make it a striking and beautiful creature even, one is hopeful, to those who generally dislike invertebrates. Leopard slugs are common in yards and gardens in the city, but rare even a short distance into the suburbs. This seems counterintuitive, but the leopard slug is an introduced species, familiar to Europeans as the spotted garden slug. Apparently it has adapted well to living alongside humans and their buildings, but for some reason can not thrive in the American countryside.

Leopard slugs feed at night, on a variety of different substances. They consume fungi, as well as decomposing and living plants. Gardeners who are bothered by slugs should be happy that the leopard slug preys on other slugs. They also will eat pet food left outside, and will feed on animal droppings and carrion. Their omnivorous habits have probably helped suit them to an urban existence. Besides Europe and North America, they are found throughout urban Australia and South Africa. Like European woodlice, they have been brought anywhere European soil has been brought.

They are hermaphrodites, and two individuals fertilize one another in a mating pendulum, entwirled about one another in a slimy embrace. Unfortunately this ritual occurs in the wee hours of the night, and few observers get the privilege of witnessing it.



Those interested in the singular and fascinating mating habits of Limax maximus are encouraged to follow this link.

This image of leopard slugs mating comes from the good people at www.whatsthatbug.com.


In case it comes up again, American paper currency is exactly 6 inches long (15.24 cm).

[identity profile] martianmoons.livejournal.com 2006-08-20 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
Saw one just last week in a suburban environment. Very impressive creatures! :)

[identity profile] wirrrn.livejournal.com 2006-08-20 02:40 am (UTC)(link)

The first episode of David Attenborough's awesome series LIFE IN THE UNDERGROWTH has some phenomenal footage of mating Leopard Slugs, particularly of the beautiful, bioluminescent structure formed by their entwining penises...

[identity profile] cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com 2006-08-21 02:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you for that! I had no idea that video existed and now it's in our netflix queue! I love Attenborough!

[identity profile] wirrrn.livejournal.com 2006-08-21 03:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey,

No worries! Attenborough rocks. His latest one, the 16-part PLANET EARTH, is airing now, and he's working on another one, LIFE IN COLD BLOOD, about Reptiles...

[identity profile] cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com 2006-08-21 03:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Oooh! Excellent!

[identity profile] vampyrusgirl.livejournal.com 2006-08-20 02:47 am (UTC)(link)
I saw two starting to mate, but Ezra just wanted to continue his walk and I couldn't watch for long - but I was careful to not let him step on them!

[identity profile] morethings5.livejournal.com 2006-08-20 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
Aw, I love these guys. I remember when we saw a big one on the front steps at our summer house on Cape Cod one year. *Mollusk-related nostalgia*

[identity profile] kjc.livejournal.com 2006-08-20 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
Vinegar is good for getting slug slime off your hand.

Just FYI.

[identity profile] shellizzle.livejournal.com 2006-08-20 05:21 am (UTC)(link)
omg! slugs are EVERYWHERE when I come home from work late at night. I'm not sure what kind of slugs they are. I don't get that close. I always have to watch where I step because I'm afraid I'll squish one.

[identity profile] cowpewter.livejournal.com 2006-08-21 02:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow, that mating photo is awesome. What a beautiful method of procreation. Makes us mammals look downright awkward and crude.

[identity profile] puppydogtail.livejournal.com 2006-09-06 07:02 am (UTC)(link)
Hello Urban Pantheist! I just came across this entry and was amazed once again by the power of livejournal... I am an Australian scientist working in Munich, and I am currently working as a postdoctoral fellow on Limax maximus. I am trying to clear up the taxonomic history of this species (there are lots of interesting early descriptions, some dating from the 1600s), to work out how many species there really are within what is called Limax maximus, and (if there is more than one species) to determine which species have been introduced around the world. I am sequencing DNA as well as collecting anatomical data.

It is always nice to see that other people are interested in slugs and snails (and by the way, if you know your nursery rhymes you will see where my username comes from). Some people might think they are horrible and slimy, but I think they are beautiful creatures. You should see some of the other European species of Limax - amazing! I will check with a colleague and see if I can post some photos.

[identity profile] urbpan.livejournal.com 2006-09-06 10:53 am (UTC)(link)
Please keep me updated on your work--it would be fascinating to know if Limax maximus was actually a species complex. The next thing I'd want to know would be, "which one do we have in Boston?" The readers of this blog seem to be very slug-positive. You should go look at the entry for banana slug! I'd love to see one of those giant European black ones in person; apparently they're introduced to the Pacific Northwest. I've also covered English garden snails and one species of pond snail--click the 'mollusk' tag on this entry, that's your best bet!

(Anonymous) 2006-09-06 12:41 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't know if this is possible, but... I am looking for specimens of Limax maximus from all over the world, in order to investigate the possibility of a species complex and find out which species are introduced where. I would love to include some species from Boston! Do you think it would be possible for you to collect some for me? I don't know how we would go about transporting them - we have had live slugs posted from other parts of Europe to Munich, but I'm not sure how long they would take to arrive from America. Anyway, let me know what you think and if you are interested, we can discuss the options.

[identity profile] elusivemoon.livejournal.com 2006-09-13 04:50 am (UTC)(link)
hi there. a friend of mine sent me to this livejournal after i posted a pic of a leopard slug in my journal. sorry to say, i am not a fan of slugs. i find slugs, worms, etc. to be repulsive and they make my stomach turn. i wish i could like them more, but i can't. however, these slugs are all over my yard, and usually there's one or two on my sidewalk every morning when i come home from work. (i work 3rd shift.) the one in my pictures is a good 6" long. i have seen the beginnings of the mating process last year in the middle of the night on my back door. and i accidentally stepped on one sometime last week. the next morning a live slug had come out and was sliming all over the dead one. later that day the dead one was gone, so i'm assuming the live one ate it. anyways, i just wanted to stick my two cents in and let you know that i'm from a small town in northwest ohio, and you can go to my journal and look at the pictures if you'd like.

[identity profile] urbpan.livejournal.com 2006-09-13 01:51 pm (UTC)(link)
At least when one slug cannibalizes the carcass of another, you don't have to clean it up!

Nice pictures; that's a particularly handsome and large specimen.

Oddity in NW Ohio

[identity profile] pencilfairy.livejournal.com 2007-06-27 02:47 am (UTC)(link)
This will be shorter, because I tried to post to your original LJ about slugs, with pix, but got blocked ( I'm sure you have good reasons). Anyway, I'm F, 52, in North Baltimore, OH, and recently started a Slug Spa for the big creepies I find out back late at night. I tend to root for underdogs, and for years have given the slugs that come out at the end of late-night parties a shallow dish of beer, not enough to bait and drown them, but just enough for a slug party. Nevermind; if you like quirky music, check out www.redelvises.com and look for MP3s. If you have the least bit of curiosity about us, the long-neglected website is www.chezstrange.com. North Baltimore, OH.

(Anonymous) 2008-07-06 07:05 am (UTC)(link)
I bore witness to two of these slugs mating tonight, and I must say, I do not feel privileged. Vile, vile creatures. They don't take kindly to salt!

(Anonymous) 2009-07-29 04:21 am (UTC)(link)
i have them in the garden behind my apartment building in New York City. They are really fascinating. I have never seen slugs like this before. no joke, they get up to about 8 inches long. I would guess the average size is at least 6 inches. The last two nights I have seen ones stretched out that are almost as long as my hand. it is crazy. i really can't bring myself to kill them bc i think they are some kind of record setting slugs, so i thrown them into the next building's yard (no garden there just dirt). We have a really nice garden and I know slugs are a problem, i can see what the little white ones do to the leaves, but these things are too big to climb on leaves, so what do they do? how do they do their damage? I am really curious. Can someone tell me how these giant garden slugs function? oh man, i think i am obsessed with them - i go out almost every night with a flash light to look at them. their behavior is fascinating, i have never seen them on a plant, only on the ground and climbing sticks or walls. i got to see them mating tonight too, very cool. one larger one followed another for a while by latching on to its tail, then the lead one climbed up a stick being used as a vine support in the ground and the other followed. i poked them with a stick a bit but they were on a mission. once they started to make their way up the stick, i place a third slug (there are so many of them) on the stick to see what would happen and it just balled up and stayed that way as the other slithered past it. like it knew what was going on. then the two transfered to a vine and the lead slug turned around and slide on the underside the one behind it going the opposite way. it was very interesting.

(Anonymous) 2009-08-16 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
I live in Newfoundland and I have these slugs on my house and my patio almost every night...I actually witnessed two of them mating tonight...they eat my cat food and leave a very discusting slimey trail behind them. I have saw them at leat 6-7 inches long and as big around as a mans thumb, they are huge!!!

[identity profile] mikedavies.livejournal.com 2010-03-19 09:11 am (UTC)(link)
I have seen an increase in slugs recently and most are finding ways into my house which is very annoying having to tidy up after them. I haven't come across a leopard slug yet though and I've always found slugs to be rather disgusting creatures but I would have to admit, the slugs in the photos can be quite cool.
North London Blocked Drain (http://www.blockeddrain.org.uk/regionals/north-london.html)

leapord slug in Maine

(Anonymous) 2011-08-11 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
Just found a "leopard slug" here in Bridgton,Maine. What I read was they are rare and don't thrive in the countryside. I have never seen one before and was amazed.

[identity profile] plumberinlondon.livejournal.com 2012-11-18 10:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Sorry don`t like slugs But they are natural food for other species so I do respect them because they are part of the mother nature food chain , every time I see one I`m just moving him away from my way and as a plumber I see allot of them around manholes East London plumber (http://www.24plumbing.co.uk/)

They're here in South-Central Illinois!

[identity profile] mystmoonstruck1.livejournal.com 2016-06-19 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
We have two groups: a colony-size in the front of our house, where my mother has her gardens; and a smaller population that focuses on the back step, which has flowers nearby. Recently, we've seen two dead ones; they were large, so they may have hit their 2 1/2- to 3-year lifespan.

I started photographing them last year and likely caught two of them in a romantic pursuit though I haven't seen a mating couple yet. This year, I've been taking many photographs. I have them in their own folder in my gallery at Deviant Art. (Don't worry about the title; not that many of the artists display "unseemly" works. Most of us post images of cats and other pets, as well as landscapes, gardens and more, plus various artworks.)

I don't know how to include images here or I would share some of the pictures with you. Some of our slugs are closing in on 8 inches, but 6 inches is about the average.

I was searching for more information about them and ended up here. At first, my mother hated them, but she's becoming interested in them, too. She lets me know when I can leave the cat food dishes out for the slugs to finish. Don't worry: We wash the dishes or, if they're especially slimy, toss them, as they are former frozen dinner plates.