snowy white, a bit slimy

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Nature is beautifully interesting. And this photo, sent to me by Rex McDaniel and taken by his son James, illustrates that premise. 

Three, maybe four, slugs together. The centerpiece is a beautiful snow white slug. 

Is this even possible?

Slugs are mollusks like snails except their shells, if they have one, are generally internal. The non-native, invasive giant gray slugs (Limax maximus) most of us have around our homes and flower pots trace their lineage back to Europe and were first documented in this country in cellars in Philadelphia in 1867. And giant gray slugs do occur in a snow white variety: Limax maximus var. candida.

Who knew? 

This reminds me of the mysterious yellow slug I blogged about last year. 

Diagram from Monograph of the land & freshwater 
Mollusca of the British isles by J.W. Taylor, 1894

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