Deroceras (Deroceras) laeve (Müller, 1774)
A fast, active crawler (Quick 1960). D. laeve can be aggressive, wounding other slugs when in high-density populations (Rollo & Wellington 1979).
Not very responsive to moisture levels. Has a wide temperature tolerance, including survival of freezing (Getz 1959).
Up to 22 mm long and slightly larger, but mature specimens can be much smaller (Wiktor 2000).
Spring run-off probably serves to disperse D. laeve, which inhabits marshy places (Rollo & Shibata 1991).
Sciomyzid flies Tetanocera plebeia, T. valida prey on D. laeve (Foote 1963, in Stephenson & Knutson 1966). D. laeve is also susceptible to infection from the nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita (Grewal et al. 2003).
Feeds on live and dead plants, with some carrion and live invertebrates (Herbert 2010). A fairly wide range of plants is consumed (Getz 1959).