Killer slugs a sign of spring
The Local Sweden - [email protected]
Published: 14 Jan, 2008 CET.
Updated: Mon 14 Jan 2008 12:01 CET
Wildflowers, killer slugs and tics have made their debut early this year in Sweden, due to an unusually mild winter.
Mother Nature has apparently been deceived into imagining that spring has already arrived. Chanterelle mushrooms have also been spotted in the province of Östergotland, south of Stockholm, which surprises biologists.
“I have never heard about that previously. This is very, very unusual,” said Lars-Åke Janzon, a biologist at the Museum of Natural History.
Among the more unwelcome harbingers of Spring is the so-called “killer slug” (Arion Lusitanicus) a 10-15 cm beast with a voracious appetite. This nemesis of gardeners everywhere, the murderous slug hibernates during the winter, and returns to life when the temperature hits 7-9 degrees Celsius. Tics usually become active at about 5 degrees.
TT/David Bartal
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Mother Nature has apparently been deceived into imagining that spring has already arrived. Chanterelle mushrooms have also been spotted in the province of Östergotland, south of Stockholm, which surprises biologists.
“I have never heard about that previously. This is very, very unusual,” said Lars-Åke Janzon, a biologist at the Museum of Natural History.
Among the more unwelcome harbingers of Spring is the so-called “killer slug” (Arion Lusitanicus) a 10-15 cm beast with a voracious appetite. This nemesis of gardeners everywhere, the murderous slug hibernates during the winter, and returns to life when the temperature hits 7-9 degrees Celsius. Tics usually become active at about 5 degrees.
TT/David Bartal
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