Diet

What does the Leopard Slug eat?

Leopard slugs are omnivores. They feed on a range of fungi, plants and deceased animals. These animals have also been known to consume other slugs. Feces of some animals are also consumed. On occasion they are seen to eat other slugs and their eggs.

In human inhabited areas they have been known to eat food left out for pets.

Learn more about the Leopard Slugs in this video from the

Center for Biological Diversity on YouTube

Range

Where do you find the Leopard Slug?

Leopard slugs have been introduced to every continent except Antarctica. Their native range was in Europe though the exact extent of their original range is unconfirmed.

At present they can be found in the following countries in Europe – Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom.

Introduced populations exist across much of Australia, New Zealand, Mozambique, South Africa, Canada, Mexico, United States of America, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, China, Japan and India.

Habitat

Where can the Leopard Slug survive?

They make their home in forests in their native range. In their introduced range the leopard slugs are primarily found near human dwellings.

Credit: Public Domain

Reproduction

How does the Leopard Slug produce its young?

Leopard slugs are hermaphrodites. Both individuals will have male and female reproductive organs and produce offspring after a successful mating.

They have an interesting mating technique. Pairs will climb together up a tree or on to a rock. They then lower themselves down on a mucus rope and intertwine their bodies. This movement is always done in an anti-clockwise direction.

Once their bodies are intertwined their penis will come out from the reproductive opening on the side of their head behind the antennae. They exchange sperm and then climb back up on to the tree with one eating the mucus on which they were suspended.

Sperm may be stored for months or years.

Their eggs will be laid in the soil in groups of up to 100.

The eggs will incubate for 20 days after which they hatch. Young slugs appear as a miniature version of their parents. At birth they are colored white with their pattern not starting to show till 1 week old.

Behavior

What does the Leopard Slug do during its day?

Leopard slugs are primarily active by night. They are often seen after rain. Their activity can be noticed due to the trails of slime which are left behind.

Credit: Public Domain

Predators and Threats

What stops the Leopard Slug from surviving and thriving?

Natural predators of the leopard slug include European hedgehogs, toads, snails, beetles and parasitic nematodes.

If threatened they will secrete a colorless liquid. They can also squirt blood through their breathing hole.

Leopard slugs will be killed by humans mainly to stop them eating plants in a yard.

Populations of this species are considered stable and may be increasing as they are introduced to new areas across the globe. At many sites this species is the most common species of slug.

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Quick facts

The leopard slug has spread to every continent except Antarctica.

Their scientific name ‘Limax maximus’ roughly translates as “largest keel back slug” despite this species not being the largest species of slug.

Credit: Public Domain