UNCLASSIFIED PESTS 



355 



Fig. 223. 



A cluster of eggs of the gray 

 field slug (X 3). 



When irritated as by an 



application of lime, they 



throw out a copit)us quan- 

 tity of this protective 



secretion. The shig's 



mouth is provided with a 



tongue-Hke organ thickly 



studded with minute sharp 



teeth by which the animal 



is able to rasp oflF tender 



plant tissue. Slugs are 



hermaphroditic, both male 



and female organs being present in the same individual. The 



eggs are deposited from spring till late fall in loose clusters of 



thirty or forty in moist 

 ground, under stones or 

 other shelter. The eggs 

 (Fig. 223) are nearly 

 spherical, translucent and 

 about T2- inch in diameter. 

 They hatch in three to ten 

 weeks depending on the 

 weather. If dried they 

 shrink considerably but 

 regain their size when 

 moistened. The time re- 

 quired for a slug to reach 

 maturity depends on condi- 

 tions of moisture and food 

 and varies from six weeks 

 to nearly a year. They are 

 said to live for several years. 

 Q ,,. , I . • • , Slugs are most trouble- 



beedling bean plants injured ®. 



by slugs. some in seasons of abun- 



FiG. 224. 



