by Audrey, age 8

Today I found a slug species called Limacus Flavus (yellow slug). I named it Sunspot since it’s a yellow slug.

He/She (it’s a hermaphrodite) was on my front porch by the door, eating the fallen bird food. The weather was cold and damp. I touched it, it felt slippery, slimy, and sticky. When I touched it, it curled up into a ball.

It curled up into a ball because it is scared. It also made an orange bump on its skin, which is called the “fake tongue” for defense.

The lifespan of a yellow slug is 2.5-3 years. The eggs are laid in clusters of about 25 in the soil 110 to 165 days later. The eggs hatch into adult slugs! Slugs (including Sunspot) have incomplete metamorphosis.

Yellow slugs like Sunspot is considered a pest, but it is an important nutrient recycler.