Giant Slug? (1 Viewer)

[Mrs Free]

Hi,
I have never seen a slug as big as this and why is it a very light colour?

The picture only shows it at about 5 inches long but when i first saw it it was 7 inches!

We have just moved here and this will be our first winter, talking to our neighbour he says they are massive round here.
Why would this be so ?
What is in our garden that would attract such monsters?

 

[Leif]

Hi,
I have never seen a slug as big as this and why is it a very light colour?

The picture only shows it at about 5 inches long but when i first saw it it was 7 inches!

We have just moved here and this will be our first winter, talking to our neighbour he says they are massive round here.
Why would this be so ?
What is in our garden that would attract such monsters?

Sorry I can't id your pet but I have also seen them in Southern England. There are also equally large black ones. The real beauts though are to be found in America. I remember seeng bright yellow 6" long 'Banana slugs' in Eugene, Oregon. Hopefully someone will give a more informative answer and satisfy my curiosity as well as yours ...

Leif

 

[Gwynn]

Arion ater agg. was the nearest I could find in a very quick google search, it also comes in Black!!

 

[Neil Harvey]

It is indeed Arion ater, which comes in four main colour forms: jet black, orange, brown and the pale orange-grey of yours. This species is very widespread and common and big! It feeds on animal as well as plant matter so you can often find them crowded around squashed snails and the like.

Regards
Neil Harvey

 

[138mph]

Hi,
I have never seen a slug as big as this and why is it a very light colour?

The picture only shows it at about 5 inches long but when i first saw it it was 7 inches!

These grow to be about 2 inches longer than arion ater:

http://www.eimagesite.net/s1/gst/ru...f=/s1/photos/0018/0034_001857_0.jpg&prid=1857

Hugh

 

[roosmum]

Hi Mrs Free, slugs of that size are extremely common in my garden, especially since I don't use pellets. They are too big for the frogs to eat too!