17.04.03
New
Blow to Gardeners as Scientists Reveal Slugs Possess Memory
Gardeners
who are waging war with slugs may be entering into combat with a
cleverer enemy than they imagine, according to new research highlighted
in the latest issue of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Wildlife Magazine (on sale, 22 April,
price Β£2.90p).
Reporting
on tests by scientists at the universities of Manchester, Berlin,
and Kingston, Surrey, the magazine's wildlife gardening expert,
Dr Phil Gates, says the indications are that the grey field slug
- a common resident in British gardens - has a 'memory', associating
odour and taste.
The
result, says Dr Gates, is that the species can adopt a pick-and-mix
diet to suit its needs - for instance, seeking out newly-fertilised
plants, to obtain nitrogen, or 'remembering' the location of tasty
seedlings, so that it can return night after night till all are
gone.
In
his 'Partners in Slime' article, Phil Gates also rounds-up of the
latest scientific thinking on how to outwit slugs and snails, and
offers startling facts about their abilities, including that a bin
bag containing 50 black slugs has the same muscle power as a blacksmith's
biceps.
His
most shocking revelation, though, is the one borne out by the slug
and snail ID guide which accompanies the feature and where they
are graded according to the level of threat they pose to crops.
"Contrary to popular belief," says Gates, "some molluscs
represent little threat to garden plants, and some may actually
be helpful by feeding on decaying matter and fungi."
And,
he concludes, that even there's a bright side to even the worst
of Britain's munching molluscs. 'Gardeners throughout the tropics
have to contend with the ravages of Achatina fulica - the giant
African land snail, as long as a banana and with an appetite to
match."
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