# 🍌 NOTES - BANANA SLUGS [Banana Slug: A Close Look at a Giant Forest Slug of Western North America - Alice Bryant Harper](https://archive.org/details/000_20230331_202303) Ariolimax columbianus native to the Pacific Northwest (from Central California to Alaska) and well adapted to the lush, temperate forests in which they slowly and solitarily roam slowest creature on earth 6.5 inches per minute four tentacles * two on top are optical; detect light and movement; * two on bottom are feeling and smelling grow back tentacles radula, a tongue-like body part that’s covered in rows of microscopic teeth The slime is neither solid nor liquid, but a strange substance known as a liquid crystal, in which the molecules are fluid but structured. The slime is, paradoxically, both an adhesive (allowing the slug to stick to things) and a lubricant, allowing the slug to slide without resistance. To make slime, gastropods produce special tiny grains, called mucins, which link together. When the mucin chain comes into contact with water, it expands to more than a hundred times its original size, creating a sticky mucus Mucus has led to a new family of adhesives, which feature positively-charged polymers within water-based gel materials, known as hydrogels Hygroscopy is the ability of a substance to attract and hold water molecules from the environment detritivore, the banana slug is also a frugivore, or fruit-eater, and may play a role in seed dispersal of plants it consumes directly including raspberries and blackberries or, indirectly, through consumption of animal feces containing seeds. detritus (decomposing plant and animal parts as well as feces) detritus (dead organic matter), including fallen leaves and plants, animal feces, moss, and mushroom spores, and then recycle their food into nutrient-dense waste, which fertilizes healthy soil. Detritivores are usually arthropods and help in the process of remineralization. [Banana Banana Banana Slugs! By Daniel Zatz](https://vimeo.com/465227029) Banana slugs have been used as food by Yurok Natives of the North Coast and by German immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Banana Slugs Sautéed - 12 large banana slugs - white vinegar - butter - Put the slugs in the freezer for roughly one hour. Remove and immerse them in vinegar for another hour. Slug slime will congeal. Wash the slime off thoroughly under running water. Using a very sharp knife, make a vertical cut along slug's body and carefully remove the dark entrails. Also remove the small, fingernail-shaped shell from the slug's head area. Sauté them well in the butter and your choice of seasoning. Serving over rice or rolled into sushi are also options. From A Taste of Humboldt: An Historical and Ethnic Cookbook of Humboldt County, California, assembled by Humboldt State University's Youth Educational Services.