Activities

• Slugs and snails are both molluscs. They have no legs and are not segmented. Snails have a coiled shell, slugs have no or little shell.
• They both crawl around on their belly which is full of muscle and is called a foot. If you watch them move, a muscular wave ripples along the body, pushing the slug or snail forward. They also produce a trail of slime, this helps the smooth the way forward and also acts like glue, helping slugs and snails to climb up things.
• The snail can never leave its shell. The shell is continually growing until the snail becomes an adult, this creates the lines across the shell, these are growth marks. The shell is produced by the mantle, if you gently lift a snail up you will see the thick skin of the mantle forming a collar round the body close to the edge of the shell. Snails will retreat into their shells when frightened.
• Slugs and snails also have a breathing hole, this is a small home on the side of the mantle which opens and closes.
• Slugs and most snails have two pairs of tentacles with eyes at the end of the longer tentacles. Snails eyes are generally larger than slugs, but they are still very poor and they will never get a real picture of anything. They can simply make the difference between light and dark. The smaller pair of tentacles contain the smelling organs, they act like the snail or slugs 'nose'!

• There are about 80 kinds of snail and 20 kinds of slug which live on the land in Britain. However there are also snails which live in water like pond snails.
• Water snails can't breathe under water and must return to the surface to get a lung full of air.
• Snails and slugs are most active in damp conditions.

• In the day slugs and snails normally hide away in a secluded spot, although they might come out after a rain shower. Snails will often return to the same spot time and time again to rest. You can prove this by marking their shell with crayon.
• Favourite secluded spots include in piles of rotting wood, under stones or flowerpots, in cracks in walls. Hosta plants are sometimes called 'slug hotels' due to being a favourite hiding spot of many slugs.
• Slugs and snails like damp conditions. In really dry conditions snails will retreat into their shells and seal the entrance with slime to keep the dampness in.

• Most slugs and snails are hermaphroditic, which means that one animal is both male and female. Most slugs and snails still find another to mate with. After mating each individual lays between 10 and 100 eggs.
• Some snails fire 'love darts' into each other when mating. If you find a pair of snail entwined, look for chalky darts sticking out of their skin. These are fired by each snail into their partner and act as an aphrodisiac, keeping the snails in the mood for mating.

• Snails and slugs feed on a variety of things, what they eat often depends on the type of slug or snail they are. Many are scavengers feeding on fungi, rotting leaves, dead animals and animal dung. Some slugs may even eat worms.
• Some species like to eat leaves and plants and are very unpopular with gardeners. They find food by using their tentacles and tasting with their lips.
• Slugs and snails don't have jaws, instead they have a radula, they are the only animals to have a radula. The radula is like a tongue covered with little teeth, it is rough like sandpaper. The radula is used to rip though leaves and other food. The radula gets worn away but is constantly growing, the worn teeth being replaced, just like our fingernails keep growing.

• Snails have a shell for protection but they still have enemies in the garden. Song thrush pick snails up and smash then against a rock to break their shells. They will often use the same stone, and you may find a stone surrounded by smashed and empty snail shells.
• Blackbirds and Mistle thrushes also enjoy eating slugs but haven't discovered the trick of smashing them on stones. Other animals which eat slugs include frogs, hedgehogs, toads and slow worms.
• Slugs are eaten by the same animals which eat snails, but as they don't have a shell they are often preferred. Hedgehogs prefer to eat slugs. They are also eaten by ground and rove beetles. The slugs main defence is it's slime, which puts off many predators.

• Many snails live in the garden so they are easy to find and look at more closely. Look in your garden for snails, mark different snail shells with paint or wax crayon, record where you find them. Do the same snails always return to the same place day after day?
• Snails and slugs are unique in having a radula. To investigate how the radula works open an unused camera film, so the film becomes overexposed. Soak it and put it in a pot with some snails overnight. The radula will leave a pattern as they munch. Hold the film up against the window to see the tooth marks, use a hand lens magnifier to see in more detail.
• Have a snail race. Line some snails up on a piece of plastic. In front of each snail leave a thin trail of beer or liquidated lettuce. Watch the snails go, which is the fastest? If you use clear plastic you will be able to watch how the 'foot' moves.

More activities

• Mate: When the female and the male get together to start a family.
• Hermaphrodites: Animals which are both male and female.
• Segmented: In pieces.
• Scavenge: To look for anything to eat, without being fussy.
• Predators: Animals which hunt other animals.
• Molluscs: A group of animals with shells including slugs, snails (even though they don't have shells) limpets, mussels and other shellfish.
• Coiled shell: A curled shell.
• Tentacles: Feelers which stick out of the head of an animal.
• Secluded spots: hidden places.
• Retreat: go back into