Null Object - Mensal
Channel: nathnullobject
Date: 09/08/2011

You've seen them in your garden, usually early in the morning or late at night: slimy looking creatures moving so slow it's hard to tell they're moving at all.

Yep, we're talking about slugs. Most people think they're pretty disgusting, but some slugs actually have fans.

Slug Q and A

Q: What does a slug eat?

A: Slugs are vegetarians and eat plants. Different types of slugs like different types of plants. Kind of the way people are -- people who live in Japan have a different diet than the people who live in the United States. Slugs in different parts of the country eat different things. And different types of slugs have their own preferences.

Q: How does a slug move?

A: Slugs use a long and very strong foot to move.

Q: A foot? With toes?

A: Nope, no toes. And it's unlikely you would recognize a snail's foot since it is very different from a human foot. Instead it's a long protrusion the snail uses to propel itself, just like humans use their feet.

Q: What kind of animal is a slug?

A: Slugs are invertebrates belonging to the scientific classification "Phylum Mollusca" and are closer to the octopus than the insect family. That means the lowly little slug you stepped on when you went to get the newspaper this morning is related to those huge creatures found deep in the ocean!

Q: But octopuses are so much bigger and more complex than slugs!

A: Yes and no. All the creatures classified in the mollusk family have several things in common:

Their bodies are soft and not divided into segments.

They have an internal or external shell (the slug's relative -- the snail -- carries his shell outside).

They have a muscular foot or tentacles.

Q: Why don't I see slugs during the day?

A: Slugs come out at night and prefer wet, cool conditions. The time you will most likely see a garden slug is at night or in the early morning and spring is their favorite season.