In article , Mich
writes

"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...
In article , Mich
writes
This morning ( about 5.am) I found a 3inch long black slug (?) climbing
up
my cucumber plant in the greenhouse.


What about the back end? Did that also have a sucker thing?
Could it have been a leech?

I had a feeling ( gut reaction) it might have been a leech but I have never
seen one live before. And certainly not that size. All the leeches Ive ever
seen were little things. Pictures are not always the same as 3D
confrontation.

However, I still am not sure which variey it could have been .
It was black with brownish stripy(?) markings/ridges on it.

The best guess, especially from the description of the front
end, is one of the amphibious leeches, some of them go quite a distance
from water. The sucker at the front end is entirely taken up with the
mouth and the one at the tail end is often hardly noticeable.

There are 3 UK species that reach that size,

Hirudo medicinalis, the medicinal leech - extremely rare in the UK and
not usually found very far from water.

Haemopsis sanguisuga, the horse leech (used to be used by leech
collectors to adulterate batches of medicinal leech). Dark brown - black
in colour.

Trocheta subviridis, Dutrochet's leech - even more common than the
horse leech and the only true terrestrial leech native to Europe. It is
often is dug up in gardens or found in drains, especially after heavy
rain. It was accidentally introduced to the UK from Europe in the late
19th century and has been spreading rapidly, usually dark olive green in
colour. Again it does not suck blood, feeding on earthworms and other
invertebrates (slugs, snails etc.).

I didnt touch it. I got it off with the scissors - it was then I realised
it might not be a slug since it didnt quite look like one at that point -
and then cut it in half outside the greenhouse ( well I was denying a leech
and trying to make it a slug.... its only now I can admit it might have been
a leech)

Killing it wasn't very friendly in any case. It wouldn't damage
your plants and it would feed on any greenhouse pests it came across.

I am still at a loss to know how it might have arrived since there is no
water ( as in pond or similar) near ( except a water butt )

I also looked for a slug trail ( the silvery mucus trail they usually leave)
around the plant ( wondering if there were more) and there were no trails at
all.

If it wasn't a leech (or a real slug) then the only thing I can
think of was a New Zealand flatworm, but their mouth is about 1/3 of the
way along the body on the underside, they leave a slug/snail type trail,
and are very slim for their length.
--
Edward Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm