990 I. M. Haw ey 
_ (Fahrenheit) be ow the normal. The first half of February was also un- 
usually cold. Since that year slugs have been so scarce that injury to 
beans caused by them has been almost unheard of. 
In the study of the distribution of Agriolimax agrestis, 1t may be noted 
that it has not been reported as serious in the Southern and Middle Wes- 
tern States. This is perhaps because the high, dry temperatures of these 
States during the summer are unfavorable to its successful development. 
» SEASONAL HISTORY 
In western New York there is normally but one generation of Agriolimax 
agrestis in a year. Sometimes the eggs deposited in the fall hatch in the 
following spring, and the slugs from these eggs are full-grown by August 
and, in their turn, deposit eggs from September to December. These 
adult slugs usually die before the next spring. Sometimes, however, 
full-grown slugs live thru the winter and deposit their eggs in May and 
June of the next year. These spring eggs hatch at about the same time as 
the overwintering eggs. 
PREDATORY AND PARASITIC ENEMIES 
In England, acording to Theobald (1905), slugs are preyed upon by 
the thrush, the starling, the pigeon, the blackbird, the duck, and poultry, 
as well as by the toad, the shrew, the mole, and the centipede. Ritzema 
Bos (1890) states that in France, beetles of the families Carabidae, Staphy- 
linidae, and Lampyridae feed on slugs; and Cooke (1895) reports that there 
is a fly which lays its eggs with those of Agriolimax agrestis, and that the 
slug is parasitized by the larva. The same writer says also that nematodes 
likewise help to reduce the numbers of these slugs. Banks (1915) reports 
that a mite (Hreynetes limaceum Koch) has been found attached to some 
species of slugs. 
In western New York, chickens free to run in the fields have eaten many 
slugs. Eggs of the species in a wet petri dish were found to have nematodes 
feeding in them. The small worms would apparently make a hole thru 
the outer covering of the egg and feed on the embryo within. 
CONTROL 
Various control measures against Agriolimaz agrestis have been tried and 
recommended. In many cases advantage has been taken of the irritation 
and the secretion of mucus caused by finely pulverized and granular mate- 
rials coming in contact with the slug. Life, both air-slaked and hydrated, 
is the most commonly recommended of these irritants; other materials 
suggested are salt, caustic soda, tobacco dust, wood ashes, soot, road dust, 
hellebore, powdered coke, sawdust, and various combinations of these. 
