S-L-U-G slug.

If there was ever an animal in need of some good publicity then it has to be the slug.

Now, I'm not proud of myself when I say this, but the very idea of a slug being anywhere

near me let alone crawling over my hand or across my foot just makes me kind of squeamish

and I know for a fact that I'm not alone.

The words cold and slimy are often used to describe slugs, and as far as many gardeners

are concerned they're arguably their number one pest, even though it's only some species

of slug that are the culprits.

As well as chomping their way through seedlings and mature plants, fruits and vegetables, some

slugs will feast on dead animals, whilst others hunt and kill snails and even other slugs.

None of this endears them to us, but you know what, really we should all love a slug.

They're such great composters, helping to break down decomposing vegetation and recycle

soil nutrients, plus they're an important food source for so many other creatures, including

mammals, birds, slow worms and insects.

As for all that slime they produce, well, this has really got a group of scientists excited

because slug slime could hold the secret to creating a highly effective surgical glue.

Hi there, I'm Patrick I and welcome back to series 2 of 30 animals that made a smarter,

an original podcast from the BBC World Service.

The podcast which reveals how animals like parasitic wasps, snakes and squid, which feature

in our earlier episodes, have helped us humans out with some really challenging problems

and inspired some amazing ideas and inventions along the way.

This stuff is called Biomimicry and I am fascinated by it.

...