Slugs (and mites?) for id please

[jeremiah]

Can anybody id these slugs for me?
They are the same kind, the markings are the same, a long grey oval stripe behind the head, and two parallel grey stripes along the body.



Also, while I was peering at them I could see a number of tiny white insects or mites running about very fast on each of them, as if the slime wasn't sticky at all. I thought they might be springtails, but they were running, not jumping. They haven't come out on the photo. Does anybody know what these might be?

[aeshna5]

I think they are Field Slugs, Deroceras reticulatum, but I'm not an expert on these critters, but they are very common.

[Fauna]

I think these are Lehmannia marginata.

[jeremiah]

Fauna - thanks - they do look like *one* of the pictures on google images - most of the pictures are side-on, which isn't that useful as you usually see slugs from above. They aren't on trees, they are in my pot plants, though they do have a tendency to climb up the begonias.

I googled "slug mites" - they are Riccardoella limacum, they suck the slug's blood and weaken it a lot, just half-a-dozen are enough to stunt its growth.
I suppose they are too crowded and sheltered in a lean-to, if they were up a tree some of the mites would get washed off by rain.

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by Fauna

I think these are Lehmannia marginata.

I think so too. Formerly known as Limax marginata so you could try googling for either or both names.

Dave P.