Details
Cornu aspersum
A familiar land snail with a brown-banded shell. Native to the Mediterranean region, it has spread with people to gardens and farms around the world.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
Uses damp gardens, fields, hedges, grassland, and sheltered places under stones or debris. In dry weather it seals the shell opening with mucus.
The rounded shell is yellow-brown to chestnut with broken darker bands. The soft body is gray-brown with two pairs of tentacles on the head.
It is most active at night or during rain. During drought or cold it retreats and rests inside the shell.
It scrapes many herbs, vegetables, fruits, and decaying plant material. Calcium from soil and lime-rich surfaces helps build the shell.
Individuals are hermaphrodites. After mating, they lay clusters of white eggs in soil, and young hatch with tiny thin shells.
The species is farmed and eaten as escargot, but introduced populations can damage crops. Moisture strongly affects activity.
