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Do we have a word that means slug-like?
The reason I'm wondering is I saw horror movie today entitled "Slugs," a pretty bad movie as far as good horror movies go, and no, "good horror movie" is not an oxymoron to horror movie fans.
Anyway, there was a little interesting information about slugs, none of which I have gone to the trouble of finding out whether is true or not.
For instance, one scientist in the movie said that slugs travel on their own slime. Can't you just see the poetic possibilities for that single fact? Anyway, even more interesting from this horror scientist was the fact that if you put a slug on the edge of a razor blade, that slug will be able to crawl across the sharp edge without injury because the slug is moving across the edge on its self-constructed highway of slime. I'd say this single fact, if true, should have some practical applications. But I can't imagine a slug having enough balance to stay perched up there on that edge.
Anyway, if anyone knows the adjective for slug-like, thanks for dropping it here.
I do NOT recommend "Slugs" in any way. I have just told you everything that was really interesting about the movie. "Plumed Serpent" was not much better, although the monster bird was pretty cool flying through the sky. Much more believable than, say, Godzilla.
The good thing about writing in Animal Safari is no one other than Bill reads here. Hi, Bill!
Bill regards,
WW
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Dear WW: I read you loud and clear. The slugs sluggish sleigh ride on an endless carpet
of its own making is interesting. I'm trying to rember what predator dines on them.
They may be a delicacy to some humans. I don't have any desire to sample them, no
matter how artistically prepared. So now I'll go looking for the adjective. Ought to be a
jaw-breaker somewhere. Bill
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Dear WW: your trusty web searcher succeeded again. I searched for "biology garden slug, and got URL below. I found scientific name "Limax maximus" Had a hunch, looked in dictionary for "limascine" and that's what you asked for. http://ipmwww.ncsu.edu/INSECT_ID/AG136/slug6.html
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Bill, you are amazing! And the sleigh image is terrific.
Thanks a lot.
Now we'll see whether this thread on Animal Safari will move onward fast as a one-slug open sleigh...
WW
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One last bit:Natural predators of slugs and snails include toads, some
predacious beetles and their larvae, birds, ducks, and chickens.
One problem for predators is slugs may be nocturnal, as I often see
slime trails in early AM.
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From Bill's link:
Distribution -
The spotted garden slug was introduced into the United States from Europe. In this country it is recorded from Massachusetts south to Georgia and west to Oregon and California.
Now why did we decide to bring the slug over here? How odd...
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And I wonder whether limascine rhymes with "lima bean"?
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I think they would rhyme. But don't serve them cooked together. That would
be obscene.My dictionary says either short "i" or long "i" for limascine.
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Now why did we decide to bring the slug over here?
i am sure we didn't .. some slug eggs got layed on a a paving block or some thing brought over as ballast on a ship..
same with earth worms.. and cockroachs... free loaders who came along with some thing else, like root stock or crocus bulbs...
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Cool, of troy! Taking your lead, I googled "slug maximus Europe introduced" and found many links. Here's a bit from one of them:
The Pacific Northwest has several native slugs. The biggest is the banana slug, Ariolimax columbianus. Some of them are huge, growing up to 10 inches long and weighing a remarkable one-quarter pound. Many hikers have seen banana slugs, which are often yellowish, tan, or brown but may be any shade from white to black. Since they (both hikers and banana slugs) hang out in the woods, staying as far away as possible from urban environments, the banana slug, like the other native slugs, are rarely a problem for gardeners.
In stark (and some would add raving) contrast, the introduced slugs are the bane of every gardener’s existence. They include the ubiquitous European Black Slug, Arion ater, which is so different from native slugs that slug scientists put it in a different genus. The Black Slug is the one with the ridges and furrows on the back of its body. Like black bears, it comes in several colors, including brown. Another introduced slug, this one from Asia Minor and Europe, is the Great Gray Garden Slug, Limax maximus. Somehow even more revolting than the black slugs, this one has a smooth, gray body with darker stripes and spots. A couple other slimy species creep around at night outdoors. Another one lives in greenhouses and other warm, cozy spots. These imports were most likely stow-aways, arriving with plants.
If the slugs weren’t bad enough, we also have snails. For those, we can thank an unnamed gourmet who arrived in gold rush San Francisco in the 1850s with a craving for escargot. He imported snails, some of whom apparently thought life on the lam was preferable to the alternative—a date with a pool of sizzling garlic butter. Not only did the escapees survive, they flourished. Eventually, they began moving north, hitching rides hidden in pots and plants.
I lost the url; sorry.
That banana slug, measuring ten inches, doesn't sound like something I'd like to find crawling over my sleeping bag in the dead of night!
Now we have the title to the horror film that will follow "Slugs":
"Revenge of the Banana Slugs."
Mebbe Chiquita will sponsor our directorial efforts.
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