Slugs are most gardeners worst nightmare, in one night they can demolish a whole row of your choicest hostas or your crispiest lettuce. Britain has 23 species of slug and the great black slug is one of the largest. In spite of their name they can be black, brown, brick-red, orange and grey.
Having no shell, slugs need a means of keeping their soft bodies from drying out. This is provided by a layer of sticky mucus over their body, giving slugs their characteristic sliminess. Slugs are rarely seen during the day, they need the cool of the night to come out and play.
And this is the playground they leave behind in the morning:
But there is another side to slugs.
Watch and be amazed! This is a breathtaking spectacle of leopard slugs mating in the most sinuous and beautiful display. Music, Dancing and Sex, all that's missing is Poetry, but poets just simply won't touch slugs!