Deroceras reticulatum
Encyclopedia
Deroceras reticulatum, common name
s "grey field slug" and "grey garden slug", is a species
of small air-breathing land slug
, a terrestrial
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Agriolimacidae
. It is important as an agricultural pest.
It is widely distributed in Europe, more rare and restricted to cultivated fields in the southeast, particularly in the Balkans, probably absent from Greece and Bulgarian mountains. In North and central European lowlands, Great Britain and Ireland it is probably the most widely distributed slug. It is scarce and mainly as a synanthrope
in north Scandinavia.
It occurs in countries and islands including:
The species has been widely introduced as a synanthrope to many regions:
there is the dark spots form a reticulate pattern. The skin is thick. Mucus is colourless, on irritation milky white. The slug cannot be distinguished from many other Deroceras species based only on its external appearance.
This slug can be up to 40–60 mm long (preserved 25–30 mm). The size varies according to the habitat.
Reproductive system
: Penis is fleshy and with a silky sheen, in the shape of an irregular sac, in fully mature specimens divided into 2 parts by a deep lateral constriction. Penial gland has very variable shape, usually a few branches or a single long branch. Stimulator is large, conical and narrow. Retractor of the penis is inserted laterally. Vas deferens opens into penis wall facing the external body side. Rectal caecum is large.
It can travel up to 40 feet (12.2 m) in a single night.
. After several years with continuous moist weather conditions abundance can seriously increase.
Maximum age is about a year. Slugs die at the first frosts. Usually only eggs hibernate, sometimes also juveniles.
is a mutualistic symbiont of the slug-parasitic nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita
. In nature, Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita vectors Moraxella osloensis into the shell cavity of the slug host Deroceras reticulatum in which the bacteria multiply and kill the slug.
Deroceras reticulatum can transfer Escherichia coli
on its body surface.
Parasites of Deroceras reticulatum include:
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
s "grey field slug" and "grey garden slug", is a species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of small air-breathing land slug
Slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
, a terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Agriolimacidae
Agriolimacidae
Agriolimacidae is a family of small and medium sized land slugs, or shell-less snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks.- Distribution :Distribution of Limacidae is Holarctic, this include: Nearctic, western Palearctic and eastern Palearctic....
. It is important as an agricultural pest.
Distribution
The native distribution of this slug species is Europe, North Africa and the Atlantic Islands.It is widely distributed in Europe, more rare and restricted to cultivated fields in the southeast, particularly in the Balkans, probably absent from Greece and Bulgarian mountains. In North and central European lowlands, Great Britain and Ireland it is probably the most widely distributed slug. It is scarce and mainly as a synanthrope
Synanthrope
Synanthropes is a term applied to species of wild animals and plants of various kinds that live near, and benefit from, an association with humans and the somewhat artificial habitats that humans create around them . Those habitats include houses, gardens, farms, roadsides, garbage dumps, and so on...
in north Scandinavia.
It occurs in countries and islands including:
- Great Britain
- Ireland
- Austria
- Bulgaria
- Czech Republic - least concern (LC)
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Slovakia
- Sweden
- Latvia
The species has been widely introduced as a synanthrope to many regions:
- North America, in parts of Northern Michigan and Southern Michigan
- Colombia
- Peru
- Argentina - major slug pest in Buenos Aires province
- Tasmania
- New Zealand
- central Asia
Description
As all other Deroceras it has a short keel at the back of the body. Deroceras reticulatum is very variable in color, creamy or light coffee cream, rarely blackish spotted (slugs with spots may appear blackish). Behind the mantleMantle (mollusc)
The mantle is a significant part of the anatomy of molluscs: it is the dorsal body wall which covers the visceral mass and usually protrudes in the form of flaps well beyond the visceral mass itself.In many, but by no means all, species of molluscs, the epidermis of the mantle secretes...
there is the dark spots form a reticulate pattern. The skin is thick. Mucus is colourless, on irritation milky white. The slug cannot be distinguished from many other Deroceras species based only on its external appearance.
This slug can be up to 40–60 mm long (preserved 25–30 mm). The size varies according to the habitat.
Reproductive system
Reproductive system of gastropods
The reproductive system of gastropods varies greatly from one group to another within this very large and diverse taxonomic class of animals...
: Penis is fleshy and with a silky sheen, in the shape of an irregular sac, in fully mature specimens divided into 2 parts by a deep lateral constriction. Penial gland has very variable shape, usually a few branches or a single long branch. Stimulator is large, conical and narrow. Retractor of the penis is inserted laterally. Vas deferens opens into penis wall facing the external body side. Rectal caecum is large.
It can travel up to 40 feet (12.2 m) in a single night.
Habitat
Deroceras reticulatum is at present almost exclusively restricted to cultivated areas, usually in open habitats, in meadows, near roadsides, in ruins, gardens and parks, not inside forests. It shelters under stones and ground litter (does not burrow into the soil). It is active at night.Feeding habits
This species is omnivorous, feeding mainly on fresh leaves and fruits or seedings. Deroceras reticulatum is a serious pest of agricultural crops, garden cultivations and horticultureHorticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
. After several years with continuous moist weather conditions abundance can seriously increase.
Life cycle
Life cycle covers a few months, usually two generations. The main reproductive phase is in summer and autumn. It lays hundreds of eggs which hatch during early summer.Maximum age is about a year. Slugs die at the first frosts. Usually only eggs hibernate, sometimes also juveniles.
Predators
Various carabid beetles are predators of Deroceras reticlatum, including:- the European garden beetle Carabus nemoralisCarabus nemoralisCarabus nemoralis is a ground beetle common in central and northern Europe, as well as Iceland and the island of Newfoundland. It has also been introduced to and expanding its range in throughout North America.-Feeding habits:...
, is a beneficial predator as it eats the young of this species and also their eggs. - Pterostichus melanarius
- Pterostichus madidus
- Nebria brevicollisNebria brevicollisNebria brevicollis is a species of ground beetle native to Europe and the Near East. In Europe, it is found in all countries and islands except the Azores, the Canary Islands, the Channel Islands, Franz Josef Land, Gibraltar, Madeira, Malta, Monaco, the North Aegean Islands, Novaya Zemlya, San...
- Scarites anthracinus eats eggs and slugs in Argentina.
- Poecilus cupreusPoecilus cupreusPoecilus cupreus is a species of ground beetle native to the Palearctic . In Europe, it is found in almost every country, and is only absent in a number of small states and islands: Andorra, the Azores, the Canary Islands, the Channel Islands, the Cyclades Islands, Cyprus, the Dodecanese Islands,...
Parasites
The bacterium Moraxella osloensisMoraxella osloensis
Moraxella osloensis is a species of Gram-negative oxidase positive, aerobic bacteria within the family Moraxellaceae in the gamma subdivision of the purple bacteria....
is a mutualistic symbiont of the slug-parasitic nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita
Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita
Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita is a microscopic nematode in the family Rhabditidae. It is a lethal parasite of the slug, Deroceras reticulatum and a large number of other slug species from the families Milacidae, Limacidae and Arionidae...
. In nature, Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita vectors Moraxella osloensis into the shell cavity of the slug host Deroceras reticulatum in which the bacteria multiply and kill the slug.
Deroceras reticulatum can transfer Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...
on its body surface.
Parasites of Deroceras reticulatum include:
- Parelaphostrongylus tenuisParelaphostrongylus tenuisParelaphostrongylus tenuis is a small parasitic nematode that infects the brain of many ungulates. Its natural host, the white-tailed deer, is unaffected by its presence; other species, however, suffer severe neurologic damage that eventually leads to death...
External links
- Deroceras reticulatum on the UFUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
/ IFASInstitute of Food and Agricultural SciencesThe University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
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