REPORT OF THE SOCIETY 143 



BRANCH MOLLUSCA 

 Class Gastropoda 



Garden Slugs. (Limax spp.) 



Garden slugs are moUusks and not arthropods, but may be treated 

 here. They are frequently injurious in moist situations to garden and green- 

 house produce. They dislike sand, sawdust and ashes as these dry up the 

 secretion of mucus. They spend the winter in the ground encased in their 

 own slime. Some species, however, winter in greenhouses and remain 

 active throughout the year. They are active at night, and feed upon green 

 succulent leaves and ripe fruit. 



There are three common species: L. maximus, L. agrestis and L. 

 campestris. Slugs differ from snails in the apparent absence of a shell, 

 but in reality the shell is reduced to a thin horny plate embedded in the 

 mantle. 



The eggs are large, round, transparent, yellowish, occurring in gelatin- 

 ous clusters under boards or refuse. They hatch in spring and the slugs 

 become half grown by fall. The adults may live several years. Black- 

 birds, toads, moles, centipedes, and poultry destroy slugs and snails. 



Control. — (a) Trapping by placing out shingles or boards is quite 

 effective. Examine the traps every morning and crush the slugs collected 

 under them, (b) Liming the soil is also useful, (c) If slugs have collected 

 on the plants dust them with a mixture of lime 5 parts and fresh hellebore 

 1 part. Providing the hellebore is fresh this is very effective and does not 

 injure the plants. (d) Use the bran-arsenic-treacle mash as for cutworms, 

 (e) Broadcast salt at night in misty weather, (f) Use poultry. 



BRANCH— NEMATHELMINTHES 

 Nematodes or Eelworms 



Common Eelworm. (Heterodera radicicola Greef) 



Eelworms, although not closely related structurally to insects, may be 

 considered here in connection with them. They are common pests of roots 

 and underground parts of plants, producing root-knots, galls and rough 

 warty surfaces. Tomatoes indoors and potatoes outdoors are often injured. 



