Explore more about slugs and snails on expertly led courses delivered to your chosen level.

Courses run at various locations and dates

In the UK, we currently have around 44 known species of slug and 99 species of land snail. They all belong to the class Gastropoda’ however, the terms’ ‘slug’ and ‘snail’ are not based on taxonomical splits and are instead just used to differentiate between shelled and non-shelled species (although there are instances of UK slug species with small vestigial shells). They can consume around forty times their weight in a day but, despite destroying plants, most are not pests and are actually found underground feeding on decomposing vegetation.

Anatomical features of this group include:

  • A muscular foot
  • One pair of eyes
  • Head tentacles
  • A toothed file-like feeding organ known as a radula.
Image by George Mitchell
Image by Archie Mathison
Leopard slugs mating. Image by Sylvia Myers.
Roman Snail by Keiron Derek Brown

Identification Courses

Our slug and snail courses are delivered by experts in the field, and they will equip you with the skills and knowledge to discover more about the various species and their ecology and biology. Our beginner courses are for anyone interested in discovering and exploring this invertebrate group. You can learn how to identify the key groups and acquire or improve identification skills.

Training is led by expert tutors who are passionate about the subject. Taking place at venues across the UK, our courses are designed to progress your learning at a level to suit your needs.

Each course is part of a learning framework. You can see the course level descriptions here. Natural history courses are available at all levels from beginner through to professional training.

Identification Resources

Slugs AIDGAP covers all the slugs of Britain and Ireland.

Land snails AIDGAP is an identification guide to all 100 free-living terrestrial snails in Britain.