It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I recently beheld a fetching individual making its way ever so slowly across a damp forest trail. Fortunately, I became aware of its presence in time to avoid a fatal footstep on the lovely leopard slug gliding silently toward the safety of the shadowy woods. 

Approximately 20 slug species share our home turf here in the Upper Delaware River region. While they vary in coloration and pattern, most are typically earthen tones of brown, orange or gray.

Limax maximus, also known as the great grey slug, is a large slug species, growing up to 4 to 8 inches in length. This interesting member of the mollusk family sports grayish skin featuring black spots near the head and longitudinal dark stripes along the tail.

Slugs are hermaphrodites, with individuals having both male and female reproductive organs. Despite this feature, slugs typically mate with one another to reproduce. 

A related characteristic of this species, as described on Wikipedia, is its “very unusual and distinctive mating method, where the pair of slugs use a thick thread of mucus to hang suspended in the air from a tree branch or other structure.” 

Slugs also depend on mucus to move about, producing the protective substance commonly referred to as “slime trails.”

Leopard slugs are omnivorous, preying on other slug species and consuming decaying plant matter and fungi, thereby playing a beneficial role in gardens.

A word of caution is in order, however. Note that slugs may carry rat lungworm, the parasitic roundworm that can infect humans and pets. Avoid handling slugs; appreciate them only with your eyes and allow them to pass unharmed.