Slimy Visitor

Right now there's lots of moss, sticks, leaves and other debris lying on the forest floor. That's called duff. I found this slimy visitor taking advantage of this buffet of blow down.

I know he's a mollusk, but insect was the closest blog category I have. The Black Slug (Arion rufus) is from Europe, but was introduced into British Columbia in 1941 and has been considered a serious pest since 1962. They can grow up to 18 cm, pretty big for the slug world.

My guy was hiding his front tentacles (eyes and sensory organs), but you can see his characteristic black colour and tubercles (rough projections) on his back. They have the distinction of being hermaphroditic and can self-fertilize. This makes reproduction quick and easy. They start at about three months and lay about 150 small round eggs at a time. During their 1-2 year lifespan, they can produce a tremendous amount of offspring, and so on, and so on, if you get my drift. That is one of the reasons they are such a tremendous pest.

I haven't found any in my garden, only up on the cliff. They typically feast on feces, dead animals, fungi, algae, lichens and decomposing plant matter. That sounds pretty good, but they also enjoy ingesting live plants and can dramatically alter the ecosystem. Eradication is near impossible, with mechanical removal the most successful method. That may work in a small garden, but not in the open forest. I guess that means they are here to stay. -- Margy