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After dark · Slugs, snails and worms
Leopard slug
Limax maximus
A big, pale grey-brown slug spotted and striped with black, like a leopard, with a ridge along its tail.
- Size
- Up to 16cm long
- Look for it
- March to November
- Where
- Gardens, woods, compost heaps, sheds and cellars
My spotter's list
Glides after you, slowly, on a ribbon of slime. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
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Leopard slug
Good to know
Six things about the leopard slug
FriendA slug that eats slugs
It feeds on fungi, dead plants and other slugs. It does little harm to living plants.
MatingIt mates in mid-air
Two leopard slugs lower themselves on a rope of slime and twist together, hanging from a branch.
LungA breathing hole
The hole on the right side of its body opens and closes. It leads to a simple lung.
ShellA shell on the inside
Under the saddle-shaped patch behind its head is a small, flat scrap of shell.
HomeIt comes home
Like a snail, it follows its own slime trails back to the same hiding place each morning.
BothBoth male and female
Every slug is both at once. After mating, both of them lay eggs.
The real thing
Photos of the leopard slug
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
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Out and aboutHow to spot one
Look round the compost heap or on an old wall with a torch, an hour after dark on a damp night. Take an adult with you.
Lend a handHow to help
Learn to tell it from the small grey and brown slugs that do the damage. This one is on your side.
Following youLadybird
Who should follow you?
The garden
Meadow and hedgerow
Pond and stream bugs live on their own page: choosing one takes you there.
Pond and stream
The log pile
After dark
Bugs from other parts of the world live on their own pages: choose another.
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