Snails Pace

With MORE rain and MORE cold weather over the weekend continuing to suppress spring, there was little else to do than slug it out looking for molluscs. The un-seasonally cold weather is certainly holding the team back and the almost continual cloud cover is certainly making photographing some of the species very difficult.    

 Arion circumscriptus a member of the Arion fasciatus group, a species with quite a distinctive black head when it is extended. Also note the springtail (Probably Dicyrtomina saundersi) near the slugs head. 

 Arion fasciatus showing much reduced yellow on the flanks, a common feature of this species. On a more distinctive individual the flanks tend to be brighter yellow, this chap showed it towards the base, suggestive ID (just not seen in the photo).  

Arion silvaticus the the third member of the group complex, these guys are like the warblers of the slug world, in terms of being tricky to ID. This and the two species above can be incredibly similar to newcomers, especially to somebody like me, new to slugs, driven into slug induced coma, due to a lack of other invertebrates.

Quite attractive as slugs go, this is a young Arion subfuscus another variable species, which tends to be a brighter orange then the above three species. A species fond of fruits and fungi as well as young shoots from plants. 

Red form

Black form

The two common forms of the garden slug Arion ater agg. (a species complex), a species frequently encountered in and around gardens on damp days. These slugs grow quite large and provide food for a range of amphibians and hedgehogs. These slugs are omnivorous and feed on vegetation as well as dung and carrion. Slugs are quite important decomposes, despite worms getting all of the credit.  

Deroceras reticulatum another frequently seen slug in and around gardens. This species is a key component in the diet of slow worms. This is perhaps the most common species across Europe and can be a significant pest to crops such as lettuce. 

A young Limax maximus (Leopard slug), One of Britain's largest species. This is an omnivore which acts as a decomposer feeding on deadwood and fungi. It will also predate other snails and slugs. 

We cant have all these slugs without showing any snails, these are Trochulus striolatus. 

Slugs aside I managed to get some more good views of the local barn owls and brown hares, despite poor light and the hare choosing to sit behind a wire fence.