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Sticker of Reticulate taildropper
Bug card No. 3623 of 4,939

Reticulate taildropper

Prophysaon andersonii
Eats: PlantsSnails, slugs and wormsForests and woodsNo legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The reticulate taildropper is a slug from the west coast of North America. Its back is covered in a pattern like a net of little diamonds. Its most amazing trick is that it can drop off a piece of its own tail.

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
The west coast of North America, from California to Idaho and Montana
Length
5 to 6 cm (2 to 2.4 in)
Top speed
about 0.04 km/h (0.02 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Wash your hands after touching any slug.
What does it eat?
Like other land slugs, it nibbles plants and other soft food on the ground.
For real!Photo of Reticulate taildropper
Picture by Scott Loarie. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Reticulate taildropper about 6 cm long (2.4 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 2 toy building bricks in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 90 seconds

How big is Reticulate taildropper compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its slime is yellow or orange.

2

Slugs near the coast are often grey, while those further inland are browner.

3

It has two dark bands on the shield behind its head.

4

It can be greyish, reddish brown or yellowish.

you asked

Most asked questions about Reticulate taildropper

?Why is it called a taildropper?

Because it can drop off a part of its own tail.

?How big is the reticulate taildropper?

About 50 millimetres long when it is moving, and sometimes more than 60.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Prophysaon andersonii
Group
Snails, slugs and worms
Family
Ariolimacidae
Classification
Gastropoda > Stylommatophora > Ariolimacidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Prophysaon andersonii (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 Scott Loarie. CC0, 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.

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