What do snails eat? What is the scientific name of slug? What do slugs eat to sustain the large amounts of mucus they consume?

Category: Education/Science >> Science and Technology

Problem description:

Here is a brain teaser: What kind of cow does not eat grass?

The answer I gave was manatees, but others said it was snails. So what do snails eat?

Analysis:

Snails:

Snails belong to the order Stalkeye, the phylum Mollusca, the class Gastropoda, and the family Snailidae.

1. Appearance characteristics of snails

The shell is low conical, right-handed or left-handed. The head is prominent, with two pairs of antennae, and eyes on the top of the latter pair. There are flat and wide abdominal feet on the ventral surface.

2. Living habits of snails

1. It likes a dark, humid and secluded environment, stays day and night, and is very sensitive to strong light.

2. It likes to dig into loose humus soil to inhabit, lay eggs, adjust body humidity and absorb some nutrients, which can last up to 12 hours.

3. Omnivory and partiality coexist.

4. Likes moisture and is afraid of flooding. The snail's appetite is active during humid nights and when fed wet food. But flooding can suffocate snails.

5. Self-feeding survivability. As soon as the baby snails hatch, they will crawl and feed without maternal care. When infested by enemies, its head and feet retract into the shell and secrete mucus to seal the mouth of the shell; when the shell is damaged and disabled, it secretes certain substances to repair the body and shell.

6. Have strong patience. Snails have amazing survivability and are very tolerant of cold, heat, hunger, and drought.

7. Like constant temperature breeding. The temperature is constant between 25 and 28°C, and growth, development and reproduction are vigorous.

3. Reproductive characteristics of snails

1. Snails are hermaphrodites, mate with each other, and both males and females lay eggs. The snail itself acts as both father and mother. The two snails cooperate with each other, and the two snails repeatedly thrust the love arrow (***) into each other's reproductive hole. After intense thrusting movements, both parties' vaginas are inserted into each other's vagina. After 10 days of conception, both parties can lay eggs, and 8 days later the eggs can hatch into small snails.

2. Mating takes a long time, spawning is slow and difficult. The mating time of *** snails lasts for 2 to 3 hours each time, and some last for more than 6 hours. Snails can lay 2 eggs per minute, and each egg laying time lasts for 1 to 2 hours, and some eggs last for more than 3 hours. During the process of laying eggs, snails often die due to poor nutrition, collapse and dystocia. Some deaths due to dystocia account for about 30% of the total number of snails.

3. High reproduction rate. Each snail can lay eggs 6 to 7 times a year, with an average of 200 eggs each time. A snail weighing 35 grams can lay 120 eggs each time, a snail weighing 40-50 grams can lay 150-180 eggs each time, and a snail weighing 60-100 grams can lay 300-400 eggs each time. grain.

4. Snail reproduction is not restricted by age. Under the same suitable reproductive conditions, the larger the snail, the more eggs it will lay.

5. Short life. The life span of snails is generally 5 to 6 years. Unsuitable living conditions will accelerate the death of snails and shorten their lifespan.

6. Three are slow, two are fast, one is difficult and one is multiple. The three slownesses are slow movement, slow mating and slow egg laying; the second fastness is fast growth and shell shrinkage; the first difficulty and the more are difficulty in laying eggs and more eggs are laid.

Slugs:

The scientific name of slugs is Agriolimax agrestis (Linnaeus), which belongs to the class Gastropoda, the order Stalkeye, and the family Slugidae. Also known as worm snail, slug, dry snail, etc. Distributed in Southwest China, the Yangtze River Basin, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Jiangsu, Henan, Anhui and other places. 2-6 generations born every year. Hermaphrodite, cross-fertilization or isofertilization, reproduction, more than 400 eggs are laid, and the eggs are piled in moist soil. The egg period lasts 10 to 17 days, and the larval stage lasts 55 days. The damage is serious in spring and autumn. The worst damage occurs from April to June, and the worst damage occurs from May to July in the Yangtze River Basin. Wild slugs are active at night and lurk during the day, and can withstand hunger for more than 130 days. Moreover, this bug is a pest that harms crops, especially wheat seedlings. Foreign countries spend an average of 30 million US dollars to eliminate them every year.

A joke:

After the snail and the slug failed to date, the snail said to everyone: "That boy is so poor that he can't even afford a house, yet he dares to go out to pick up girls. ! Tsk!" The words reached Slug's ears, and Slug cursed angrily: "Bah~ I won't show off my house like her every day!"