so the question is can a snail mate with a slug. the short answer is no most organisms prefer to mate with their own species and snails and slugs are different species.
Snails and slugs are hermaphrodites; they have both female and male reproductive parts. But generally they must mate with another mollusk of the same species in order to lay viable eggs.
Snails are hermaphrodites, having both male and female sexual organs with the ability to both fertilize and lay eggs. When two snails meet, they will vie for position on who is going to be the male or female. Generally, the deciding factor is which snail gets the better placement of the love dart.
As the slugs dance they eventually intertwine and become excited. Both slugs insert their penises into the other slugs genital opening and take turns transferring sperm from one to the other. After much wriggling about and tugging the slugs separate and find an appropriate place to lay eggs.
It is native to Europe, North Africa and the Atlantic Islands. ADULTS: Slugs are hermaphrodites—every slug is born with both male and female reproductive parts and any slug is capable of laying eggs, though self-fertilization can occur.
Their penises begin to entwine, sort of like a big, external French kiss. And when fully engaged, they blossom into a kind of slimy florette that glows a soft blue, during which the slugs exchange sperm (which is what you're seeing here).
Slugs are hermaphroditic, possessing both male and female organs; most species mate, however, with one slug pursuing the slimy trail of another. If a slug is in mating mode, there is a chemical that is present in its slime that conveys this information to other slugs.
It takes about a year for slugs to mature into adults, which can live for about two years.
Slug and snail eggs are laid year-round, generally in damp, dark places such as under trays, boxes, pots, and compost bags, as well as in soil and in compost heaps or bins. Eggs that are laid in soil or compost heaps may be more widely scattered as they are usually found when cultivating soil or emptying out compost.
The homing instinct of a slug has been researched and it has been demonstrated that they can make their way back to where they came from over short distances as they leave a unique scent trail which they can follow to find their way home, their home in this case being your garden.
Garden snails generally hibernate during winter. They have both female and male reproductive cells (they are hermaphrodite). They don't actually need to mate with another snail in order to reproduce, self fertilisation is possible. After mating they lay around 80 white eggs in a damp, underground nest.
Slugs evolved from snails by reducing the size of the shell and internalizing it (yes, most slugs have an internal shell), and there are likely to be consequences of reducing the shell. A snail with an external shell large enough for the body to pull back into.
A gastropod WITH a shell is known as a snail. What is clear, however, is that snails and slugs aren't the same animals. Snails and slugs evolved differently; snails are born with a shell while slugs aren't.
Amorous Acrobatics. Slug slime also spurs romance. Slugs are all hermaphrodites and can fertilize themselves, but they can mate, too.
Pouring salt on a slug will kill it in a matter of seconds, however, it generally takes quite a bit of salt to do so. The salt kills the slug through osmosis – it draws water from inside the slug and rapidly dehydrates it.
The eggs look like clear little jelly bubbles that may have some coloration depending on the species of the snail. Fertilized eggs will usually change color slightly and start to show dark spots over a short period of time, which is an indication that the yolks are developing.
Slugs and snails are very important. They provide food for all sorts of mammals, birds, slow worms, earthworms, insects and they are part of the natural balance. Upset that balance by removing them and we can do a lot of harm. Thrushes in particular thrive on them!
Some slugs lay up to 500 eggs per year, which mature in three to six months and start laying eggs themselves. Left unchecked, that's hundreds of new pests each year, multiplied by every slug or snail in your garden.
THE SLUG has a moist skin, so when you sprinkle salt on to it a strong brine quickly forms. The process of osmosis then begins, by which water is drawn from a weak solution (in this case the body fluid of the slug) into a stronger one. Result: the slug dies a lingering death by dehydration.
Some birds, frogs, toads, hedgehogs, slow-worms and ground beetles eat slugs and these predators should be encouraged in gardens. Raking over soil and removing fallen leaves during winter can allow birds to eat slug eggs that have been exposed.
Lifecycle Top
Mating typically begins after germinating rains in mid autumn or early winter. Egg clusters are laid into the top layer of moist soil and hatch 3-5 weeks later depending on the temperature. The adult's weight actually declines once egg laying commences.
Crush snails and slugs completely (otherwise they may recover and walk away) or drown them in a pail of soapy water (they survive in plain water). A few dead snail and slug bodies left on the soil surface will at- tract more snails and slugs and make your collecting easier, but large piles will breed flies.