I’m toying with the idea to go back to one species a day. It’s good for the mind and gets me out looking for things; and will give me a challenge to write about things I don’t know much about. But, if i’m busy with work with no chance to get something down then I’m not going to be too harsh on myself if I miss a day. But I will see. I’ve done seven species since my one per day in January ended, so not too great if I’m honest. For today’s I’ve quickly gone round the front of my house as it’s warmer and more sheltered from the incessant terrible weather (not too bad today bar the wind) to try and find some of my 2nd love in nature (after birds) which are insects. Alas no, still too cold and windy, but I did find the remains of another invertebrate beneath a plant pot…
What: Common Garden Snail Cornu aspersum (A.F. Müller, 1774)
When: 1st March 2020
Where: My garden, Poynton, Cheshire, UK
Who saw it? Me
How was it recorded? Using the iRecord app. (https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/home)
Is it bigger than a blackbird? No, blackbird’s cousins the song thrushes eat them.
What is it? The stereotypical (in the UK at least) garden snail. A mottled brown shell housing a slug-like mollusc. The Common Garden Snail is a relatively large terrestrial snail in Britain. It is mostly nocturnal. They also hibernate over winter in secluded spots, such as under my plant pots (although the one I recorded is no longer with us, the shell had been drilled into and the animal had gone leaving behind just the shell). Unbelievably (too me, I’ve just found this out) they are a non-native species in Britain, indeed the snail ID book I have (yes, I have one! I have ID books for most types of creature) says it is ‘common in the south and on the cast and spreading rapidly inland’ (Cameron, 2008) but this must be way out of date as I live in the north of England and I’ve been seeing them all of my life. Ref: Cameron, R. (2008) Land Snails in the British Isles (2nd edition) FSC, Shrewsbury
A fact I have learned about this species: Apart from their non-native status stated above I have found out that they are edible and some folks farm them for food in the UK (according to the chronicle that is Wikipedia).
Is it charismatic in my opinion? Erm, maybe. When it is damp and dark I often walk home from work in the middle of the road (I live on a quiet road!) to avoid standing on them. I also pick them up and throw them over the wall if they are in danger of being ran over. No idea why, don’t do it for slugs. Something about them (not just this species, all snails) that may make them charismatic. Plus gardeners hate them, so anything that irritates humans directly must have some degree of charisma?
A Species a Day 