Yeah.... "Slugs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails," that is what little boys are made of, OK not quite, it is a fun old saying to kick start this adventure going on today.
Firstly different species one can never become the other, snails grow with it's shell, a hideaway for quick retreat from predators. The slug moves faster than a snail not having the heavy shell normally hiding behind rocks or under vegetation, gastropod family apparently boasts over 65 thousand species.
Both float along on a "foot", both have eyes on stalks, both enjoy slime (mucas) all over their bodies leaving trails behind. Land slugs and snails rely on the mucas to live out of water making them pretty amazing.
Giant African Land Snails appear to float along like some outlandish space ship, appearing like a dancing motion moving slowly on with frilly ribbed body over dry dirt underneath, leaving that slimy trail behind which obviously is used as part of their ability to move on land.
How will slugs or snails exist should global warming become any worse, will these amazing creatures in nature disappear.
For those who take interest in identification I hope I have found the correct ones in the Greenhouse Slug (Milax gagates), and Giant African Snails (Achatinidae), moral of the story if you want to go fast don't take your backpack with you leave it at home.
Slug on the wall is bubbling, apparently this is used to assist from dehydrating, it can also be caused as a defence mechanism, maybe my close up photography is not welcome. Oh slug smile don't blow bubbles at me.
Leathery texture of the slug is actually attractive in greys with browns, moving up the wall I left him well alone, sadly many grab a pot of salt and throw it all over them which will kill them. Slugs and Snails do eat plant material, definitely not enough to threaten them with death.
Slugs and Snails naturally mulch the soil in damp undergrowth where they are normally found, rarely seen in the daytime out in the open like this, possibly moving to find greener pastures to enjoy.
Hope you found this of interest, many slugs and snails reside in our seas and lakes, some have formulated a way of being able to survive on land which makes them exceptionally interesting animals found in our region.
Report back on unusual life on an Aloe Plant, are these suspended eggs? More than half have disappeared, yet to see what they are. Seen here
@tattoodjay understanding delay in posts, my #wednesdaywalk normally arrives eventually.
@adalger where nature is totally amazing every day of the week. Details about contest @adalgerThought for Today: "Despise not a snail for its slow and struggling movement; it has a destination and with time it shall arrive." ~ African Proverb
All photography is my own using a Canon PowerShot SC730 HS, resized to load easier, writing is my own.
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