On the lookout for the Kerry slug

THE little-known Kerry slug, which hit the headlines two years ago after getting in the way of a proposed bypass road in Ballyvourney, Co Cork, is about to get back in the news.

In Ireland, the slug is found only in west Cork and Kerry, as far as is known, and it is hoped the survey, being conducted by Dr Rory McDonnell, of University College Galway, will determine if it is also present in other parts of the country.

Dr McDonnell described the slug as an internationally important invertebrate, and aims to produce an up-to-date distribution map. In Ireland, there are five 10km grid squares where the species has not been recorded since pre-1950, and other areas where the last records are pre-1980.