Arion lusitanicus, AUCT. NON MABILLE, 1868

Jakubāne, Iveta, Pilāte, Digna, Dreijers, Edgars & Zolovs, Maksims, 2016, Distribution Of “ Spanish Slug ” Arion Lusitanicus Auct. Non Mabille 1868 (Or Arion Vulgaris Moquin-Tandon, 1855) (Gastropoda: Arionidae) In Latvia, Acta Biologica Universitatis Daugavpiliensis 16 (2), pp. 175-180 : 178

Distribution of A. lusitanicus

We assume that “Spanish slugs” were introduced into Latvia during the last 10-12 years, i.e. after 2004, when Latvia became a member state of European Union (EU). Opening of the borders between member states accelerated plant import from other EU countries that contributed A. lusitanicus introduction ( Reise et al. 2002; Kozłowski 2007; Soroka et al. 2009; Dreijers et al. 2013).

The fast spread of A. lusitanicus in Latvia happened similarly to other countries where this species has been previously studied (e. g. in Poland: Kozłowski 2007; Kozłowski, Kozłowski 2011; in Estonia: Eek, Kukk 2013; in Norway: Hatteland et al. 2013). Similarly to other countries ( Noble 1992; Kozłowski 2000; Soroka et al. 2009), A. lusitanicus mainly occur in anthropogenic habitats ( Slotsbo 2014) ( Table 1).

Although the presence of this species in all Baltic countries had been recorded quite recently — initially in Estonia ( Eek, Kukk 2008) and in Lithuania in 2008 ( Adomaitis, Skujiene 2016), this species rapidly spreads to new territories. In Lithuania, the “Spanish slug” is already included in the List of Invasive Species ( Gudžinskas et al. 2014).