Bug Wiki
Bug Wiki / All bugs / Snails, slugs and worms
Sticker of Changeable mantleslug
Bug card No. 0848 of 4,939

Changeable mantleslug

Megapallifera mutabilis
Name means: “named for its mantle, the cloak of skin that covers its whole back”
Eats: PlantsSnails, slugs and wormsForests and woodsNo legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The changeable mantleslug is a soft slug that loves to climb trees. A cloak of skin covers its whole back, like a raincoat. It shares cosy, wet holes in trees with its slug friends.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect at all, it has no legs! But kids find it on every bug hunt, so it lives in Bug Wiki too.
Lives in
Eastern North America, in leafy forests
Top speed
about 0.02 km/h (0.01 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Wash your hands after touching a slug, like after touching any wild animal.
What does it eat?
It mostly eats algae, the tiny green plant-like growth that covers tree bark.
For real!Photo of Changeable mantleslug
Picture by Paul J. Morris. CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It often lives up in living trees, such as beech trees.

2

Two to five slugs huddle together in a tree hole filled with water, and up to 12 can share one hole.

3

After a trip to find food it dips its tail in the water to drink and get wet again.

4

It lives for about one year, and the next slugs move into the same old tree holes.

you asked

Most asked questions about Changeable mantleslug

?Where does the changeable mantleslug live?

In leafy forests in eastern North America, from Canada down to the Gulf of Mexico.

?What does the changeable mantleslug eat?

Mostly algae, the green growth on tree bark.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Megapallifera mutabilis
Group
Snails, slugs and worms
Family
Philomycidae
Classification
Gastropoda > Stylommatophora > Philomycidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Megapallifera mutabilis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Paul J. Morris. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip

More from the same group: Snails, slugs and worms

Garden snailSnails, slugs and wormsGiant African land snailSnails, slugs and wormsLeopard slugSnails, slugs and wormsBladder snailSnails, slugs and wormsMedicinal leechSnails, slugs and wormsCommon earthwormSnails, slugs and worms

Also at home here: Forests and woods

Degeer's thickjawSpidersOrange mapwingButterfliesCape docile scorpionScorpions, ticks and friendsDark-spotted palthis mothMothsQueen of the huntsmenSpidersScarlet JezebelButterflies
Honey jarfor grown-ups