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The Leap-frogging Slug

Abstract

PREVIOUS reports of the life cycle of the slug, Agriolimax reticulatus (Müller)1,4, have maintained that there are two generations a year. A spring generation hatches in March to May and grows during the summer to give rise to an autumn generation which hatches in September to October and this grows during the winter to produce the next spring generation. In a recent study at Cambridge this pattern seemed to be confirmed. Outdoor cultures of A. reticulatus were kept on soil with adequate food and moisture and laid eggs within 5–7 months of hatching.

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References

  1. Bett, J. A., Proc. Zool Soc. Lond., 135, 559 (1960).

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  2. Harding, J. P., J. Mar. Biol. Assoc., 28, 141 (1947).

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  3. Hunter, P. J., Malacologia, 6, 379 (1968).

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  4. Hunter, P. J., Malacologia, 6, 369 (1968).

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HUNTER, P., SYMONDS, B. The Leap-frogging Slug. Nature 229, 349 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/229349a0

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