I was rinsing organic chard before adding it to a quesadilla for Eagle’s lunch. As I patted the leaves dry, I saw something had dropped into the sink. A gray dot. I looked again and it began to stretch out.
The tiny horns of the one cm long Gastropod mollusk emerged. Even though they took their one cm shares of the wonderful produce my friend had given me from her garden, I must say I find tiny slugs cute. I was curious about how they sense their environment, so I put an apple core 6 cm away from it. Within seconds it began to slide toward the apple. Was it the scent? According the the University of Minnesota gardening site, slugs have “eye spots” in one pair of feelers and a sense of smell in another set. The feelers look like horns or antenna. Both senses were put to work to locate the fruit.
Funny how I find these creatures to be a pest in my garden, but kind of cute in my kitchen. Do you have examples of this in your own life?
¡Olé! –Rebecca
This post is part of Debbie’s Six Word Saturday.
#6WS #sixwordsaturday
Fake Flamenco 
What a cool experiment! I agree – there is something kinda cute about the slug! Great picture of one too. Happy Saturday, Rebecca!
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Thanks, Wynne. The apple was the equivalent of 12 meters (around 36 ft) away and it sensed it immediately.
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Wow – that is remarkable!
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Interesting! I don’t mind seeing them when I visit my daughter in OR. They are cute. 🐌
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Sounds fun. Evan tells me the slugs in Oregon are quite large!
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Fascinating, Rebecca. I can’t believe you even thought to do that! I would have just screamed. And, well, I find HR to be a pest sometimes, but I do find him cute in the kitchen.
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I don’t like when I am harvesting and brush against a slug. But they aren’t aggressive. Now I’m imagining Robert looking like Shrek. It’s a good look for him. ; )
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Interesting
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Have you met any slugs in your garden?
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No!
That’s really rare here.
However, we do have leeches, chameleons, birds(regular ones), bees(of various kinds), squirrels and butterflies (regular ones).
I’ve saw snails in nursery, but not here.
Earthworms are more common in rain. 😁
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Perhaps it is too hot and dry most of the year for slugs. Wish you liked to take photos. I’d like to see the chameleons! 🙂
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I love the pics.
I would definitely share a pic of a chameleon, in future blog. They get scared easily.
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Thank you, Devang. Glad you like the slug and apple experiment pic. It takes time for animals to ignore immobile photographers. 🙂
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😁
I will try to get good pics.
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I don’t like slugs of any size, but I let them be when I find them on the underside of my plant pots. My hope is that they do more good than harm.
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Kind of you. I’m sure they are important in the circle of life. : ) Good bird food.
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They Are Cute. Some of this ones cousins had gotten really fat – a totally different shape!
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Not surprising with all those delicious leaves, carefully tended to and watered. : )
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Chipmunks are cute in the wild but pests of the highest order in the yard/garden. Similar thoughts.
janet
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Thanks, Janet. I agree completely. A chipmunk nibbled our car’s electric system one year while we were out of town. It was a very expensive repair. We knew which chipmunk it was by the scorched tail!
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😳
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I have a soft spot for these giant grasshoppers we get (eastern lubber grasshoppers).. they’ll destroy a garden in no time but they’re still kind of cute.
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Yes, I like the patterns on the grasshopper’s back legs. They are pretty pests.
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So many pests are fascinating but they’re hard on a garden.
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Ew no! Better in the garden than the kitchen. We once lived in a house where snails used to venture indoors. Couldn’t be doing with it at all!
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Wow, snail invasion! That would be a bit much.
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Yes. The worst was when you didn’t notice, slung the bread board down to cut bread, and … bounce! A snail or slug was underneath!
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Ugh, or underfoot would also be yucky!
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Eww yuck! That’s all I gotta say 😛
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Everyone is entitled to her opinion. I don’t mind as long as it is at least 6″ from me! No touchie!
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Cute!!! as long as they do not end up destroying my garden 😊. We see so many slugs, small and large busy in activities in summer in our area.
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Yes, agreed, they can devour the chard!
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I get loads of slugs in my garden, especially when the weather has been wet. It’s annoying when I touch one by accident as I’m not keen on the feel of them. And then sometimes if I leave the patio door open they sneak into my house!
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The massive slug home invasion…could be a movie!
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