100 Species #18: English garden snail

[urbpan]

A sleepy English garden snail (Cepaea nemoralis) cringes against the cold.

I wasn't sure this yard would have them--they are very common in Brookline and Brighton, but the further you get from the city the more rare they seem to be. It will be interesting to see if our affection for this animal will come into conflict with our new roles as gardeners. This little one's shell will grow to be about four times this size--perhaps 2 cm in diameter. This is a typical pattern, but the species is extremely variable, as can be seen in this fun post. This was also featured as 365 Urban Species #144.

Comments

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

are they edible? :)

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[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Absolutely! A bit smaller than the European brown snail sold as escargot, but I'm sure you could cultivate or trap enough to have a nice set of appetizers!

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

they like beer like slugs?

marinated in beer, battered, fried. mmm.

had some fresh mustard garlic today. nom. waiting for the knotweed. pie!

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[phlogiston-5.livejournal.com]

I collected a ton of those shells during a brief summer in Boston. I loved making watercolor paintings of them. Never saw them anywhere else though.

[vodkanoodles.livejournal.com]

we get a lot down here near sydney in australia

gardners can be snail lovers - with big yards and a wet corner for pond/frogs/snails ect.. i swear the snails learn where it's safe and where they are not allowed - so long as you keep your fruit patch as far away as possible from your pond that is :)