The Slimy, Sticky World Of Banana Slug Courtship
When it comes to sex, banana slugs take things slow. But slow doesn’t mean boring. Banana slug mating involves swapping slime, swinging heads and some light (or heavy) biting. Learn about how banana slugs procreate in this video – we promise it won’t disappoint.
TRANSCRIPT
When it comes to sex, banana slugs take things slow.
But slow doesn’t mean boring.
For them, it’s a head-banging,
slime-swapping,
body-chomping bonanza.
Banana slugs glide across the forest floor on a bed of their own slime,
keeping an eye out for yummy things…
like this mushroom.
Or this dung.
They’re also detritivores.
They eat dead organic matter and recycle it into fertilizer for the forest floor.
Thanks slug!
Here’s some of that fertilizer now.
It comes out of a hole right next to the pneumastome, the slug’s respiratory organ.
The banana slug is what’s called a ‘simultaneous hermaphrodite,’
meaning each slug has male and female sexual organs at the same time.
They can actually impregnate themselves,
but fun’s more fun when you have it together – right?
Oh, hello gorgeous.
The slugs swing their heads at one another, and start taking little nibbles.
Don’t worry! They’re not hurting each other.
Think of it as a sort of taste test, to see if they’re compatible.
Excuse me, a little privacy here?
It’s a test that goes on…
and on…
for up to two hours!
Researchers think that they need all that time to prepare for the main event.
The slugs flex the muscles in their heads, increasing blood flow to the gonopore,
where each slug’s male and female sexual organs are located.
They need it to be swollen in order for things to progress.
You might notice some heavy breathing – here, in the pneumostome.
This is hard work!
They lock heads in a sort of side-hug-french-kiss combination.
And they’ll stay like this for another couple hours,
taking turns delivering sperm to one another.
When they’re not mating, the penis is tucked away inside the slug –
but it can be as long as the slug itself.
Oh! Here’s a view of it …
But wait! This encounter has gone a bit sideways.
Banana slugs are known to occasionally…
chew off their mate’s penis, an act called apophallation.
Our duo uncouples peacefully.
Each taking the other’s sperm with them.
They leave a bit of a mess.
During their slimy romp, slugs produce enough slime to make a kind of nutrient-filled mucus blanket.
And this one stays to eat it.
They’re hungry now, and ever resourceful.
So resourceful that they can store their mate’s sperm for months,
waiting to fertilize their eggs until the time is right.
When the weather is damp and cool, they find a protected place to lay a clutch of eggs.
And over the next few months the next generation will arrive…
making the forest a more beautiful, fertile place.
