page_title: Limax maximus
section_title: Life cycle
hierarchical_section_title: Limax maximus / Ecology / Life cycle
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Tigerschnegel bei der Eiablage im Sandkasten meiner Kinder. English: Tiger slug with its eggs. I took the photo under the awning of the sand-box of our kids. The sand-box was unused for a longer time.
context_page_description: Limax maximus, known by the common names great grey slug and leopard slug, is a species of slug in the family Limacidae, the keeled slugs. It is among the largest keeled slugs, Limax cinereoniger being the largest.
  Limax maximus is the type species of the genus Limax. The adult slug measures 10-20 cm in length and is generally a light greyish or grey-brown with darker spots and blotches, although the coloration and exact patterning of the body of this slug species is quite variable.
  This species has a very unusual and distinctive mating method, where the pair of slugs use a thick thread of mucus to hang suspended in the air from a tree branch or other structure.
  Although native to Europe, this species has been accidentally introduced to many other parts of the world.
context_section_description: The eggs of this slug are deposited in a cluster, slightly attached to each other. Eggs are transparent, elastic and slightly yellowish in color. The size of the egg is 6×4.5 mm. They hatch in about a month.
  The tiny slugs which emerge from the eggs need at least two years to reach sexual maturity.
  The lifespan of Limax maximus is 2.5–3 years.
caption: With egg cluster
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