Leopard Slug Mating is Well....Strangely Beautiful

or "Ewwww, I Can't Look Away"
So once in a while I have to veer off track and bring you something completely different (much like my previous post on 50 foot cockroaches). Today I want to share with you something so gross and disgusting that it's almost beautiful (sort of like hairless cats and Shar pei dogs), leopard slug mating. Now for those of you that are gardeners you probably find leopard slugs (Limax maxiumus) a great nuisance that eats your vegetables and leaves slimy trails everywhere, but they are really much more complex (and a good cup of stale beer put out at night will take care of the problem).
Slugs 101
All slugs and snails are in the phylum Mollusca, along with squid, clams, and octopi. Slugs are gastropods, literally meaning "foot mouth". Leopard slugs have a noticeable mantle on their backs and in almost all species it's black spotted. They also have two optic tentacles with eye spots on the tips and two below them for feeding and tasting. Their anal opening is under the mantle (on the right side of the head) and they are hermaphrodites with both male and female genitalia.

Also on their mantle is a large hole or respiratory opening (called the pneumostome) that leads to lung-like tissue for respiration. Their respiratory opening opens and closes at regular intervals to prevent dehydration. Slugs glide along on a large muscular foot. The leading edge of the foot is called the "skirt." Mucus is produced in glands on the "sole" of the foot. This mucus has specific pheromones that attract other slugs and also acts as a signal, trail marker, and travel lubricant. Underneath the smallest pair of tentacles is the rasping and chewing mouth part that are used to chew plants and vegetation.