Buttercup - our three cats are little monsters for going in places they shouldn't. The old saying of 'curiosity killed the cat' is certainly true! One of our cats is a tabby and we've always affectionately nick-named him 'The Banded Snail' ( because of his coat pattern and because he moves so slowly unless there's food on offer!)
He's rather like a snail when it comes to chewing off bits of my plants too...
Thanks for the warnings but the nice lady that sold me a (very expensive) copper trowel told me they had no defence against copper. Should I demand a refund?
Oh well when it comes time I shall go back to relying on my first strategy. I am banking on the fact that the Giant kings of the Snails, Slugs, & Mice the armies of the aphids &wasps will all be so busy fighting to get at me first that I can just slip past them all.
Congratulations to Philippa, Pansyface and Josusa for providing the winning entries for the Collective Noun Competition.
Great idea to have 'Squeeze' and 'Slither'. I just hope I don't get them mixed up, or I'll have Philippa and some ferocious fighting snails after me...
Thank you for rounding up the competition, Philippa.
I only have Internet in town, when I'm in work, so hence my shocking absence - no I wasn't under the influence, if that was what you were all thinking!
I had a nice quiet break at home and didn't step out the front door between Christmas Eve and yesterday, which was great!
I found a couple of minuscule slugs in a bowl of alpines that I brought inside out of the wet this week, if anybody's interested...
Vertigo angustior, the Narrow Mouthed Whorled Snail, is classified on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened.
It is tiny - the shell measures approximately 1.6 - 2.0 mm in height and 0.9 - 1.05 mm in width.
The majority of the species' range lies within Europe, with isolated records in North Iran.
In the main part of the range, the species is considered to be meeting the thresholds of 30% of population decline over the last 10 years. These declines are likely to become more severe in the future, as in this part of it's range the species mostly inhabits salt-marsh and coastal dunes, within fringing habitats of a gradient of groundwater levels (often marginal strips of vegetation less than 5m wide), and these habitats lie where sea defence construction will take place (especially in regions concerned about climate change and increased frequency of storm-surges at spring tides), and as such further declines in areas with pristine habitats might be expected.
Evidence from Ireland, where a significant 3 year survey (2008-2010) was undertaken on known extant sites, found 1 of the 21 known sites had been totally destroyed. A further 7 sites had decliend to a situation that the snail may already be lost or is likely to be lost in the near future. Site losses were in inalnd wetland habitats.
The snail is particularly vulnerable in Europe at wetland sites, which are difficult to protect, and in coastal sites which may be subject to increasing inundation. The UK sites are currently in good condition, but the future prospects are considered to be potentially poor as the vast majority of the population is found along sea wall defences and in estuarine habitats that are becoming increasingly vulnerable to inundation. Pressure to increase sea level defences with stronger, steeper walls could destroy the populations depending on the older more vulnerable defence bunds.
At a broad level, it appears to be present in a very wide range of habitat categories of maritime dune grassland and maritime or inland wetland (including fen, marsh, salt marsh and flood plain), but the micro-habitat within which it is restricted means that the exact conditions which its presence demands are rare, and a lot of habitat that is “almost correct” is devoid of the snail. Where fixed dunes have the correct habitat conditions, the snail may cover a large area of occupancy. Otherwise, it can be found in an often narrow transition zone between saltmarsh and dune, and in transition zones between grassland and wetland with short herbs, mosses and Iris. In Cumbria, it occurs in moss on limestone pavement. It is normally found on permanently moist but free-draining soils, not subject to prolonged inundation. Vertigo angustior is a groundwater-dependant species.
The main threats to the species are:
Modification of site hydrology
Heavy grazing/ lack of grazing
Supplementary feeding of livestock
Scrub encroachment
Eutrophication
Pesticides
Exposure to leisure activities (especially on coastal sites), e.g. caravan parks and marinas
I wasn't very kind to snails in 2017 and did feel guilty but having kept up with this Thread I feel I should make an effort this year as soon as they make an appearance. There are so many I just don't know what to do with them. Could put them in a bucket and deposit them somewhere discreetly but obviously not a neighbour's plot. But where?? They had devoured so many of my plants and the lupins were their favourites.
If I hadn't left it so late I would have suggested A slipper(y) of snails for my contribution. I am sure you are all aware the correct term is "Escargatoire" but not a patch on the winners.
How do other posters eliminate snails in a kindly way?
You're right Philippa - this is why so many important creatures are under threat - not all of them look very "cute" and so don't get noticed.
And to many of these big business people and Governments, it's only money that looks cute
'New Year Squeezes' - I like that!
My pond snails appear to be doing well too. They live in an ornamental fountain - one of those plastic barrel and pump ones - and I feed them on Tetra Pleco Algae Wafers since there isn't much natural food in there for them.
I know you're teasing, Philippa - if we didn't both have a sense of humour we wouldn't have started the SLS!
Posts
pbff - No, but she would likely have run out of oxygen if I hadnt spotted her and she was trapped underneath!
Buttercup - our three cats are little monsters for going in places they shouldn't. The old saying of 'curiosity killed the cat' is certainly true! One of our cats is a tabby and we've always affectionately nick-named him 'The Banded Snail' ( because of his coat pattern and because he moves so slowly unless there's food on offer!)
He's rather like a snail when it comes to chewing off bits of my plants too...
A fruit-themed snail picture for the weekend...
Catch up with you all in the week.
Thanks for the warnings but the nice lady that sold me a (very expensive) copper trowel told me they had no defence against copper. Should I demand a refund?
Oh well when it comes time I shall go back to relying on my first strategy. I am banking on the fact that the Giant kings of the Snails, Slugs, & Mice the armies of the aphids &wasps will all be so busy fighting to get at me first that I can just slip past them all.
Must go Matron is calling me for my medication
Ha, ha Iain!
Can anyone come up with any final ideas for collective nouns for snails, before we go to vote on the subject?
Last edited: 20 December 2017 16:14:32
A very Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year to all Snail Lover's Society members.
Hope you all have a lovely time.
Don't forget the pet slugs and snails this Christmas!
Hi again all,
Hope you had a lovely Christmas.
Congratulations to Philippa, Pansyface and Josusa for providing the winning entries for the Collective Noun Competition.
Great idea to have 'Squeeze' and 'Slither'. I just hope I don't get them mixed up, or I'll have Philippa and some ferocious fighting snails after me...
Thank you for rounding up the competition, Philippa.
I only have Internet in town, when I'm in work, so hence my shocking absence - no I wasn't under the influence, if that was what you were all thinking!
I had a nice quiet break at home and didn't step out the front door between Christmas Eve and yesterday, which was great!
I found a couple of minuscule slugs in a bowl of alpines that I brought inside out of the wet this week, if anybody's interested...
Vertigo angustior, the Narrow Mouthed Whorled Snail, is classified on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened.
It is tiny - the shell measures approximately 1.6 - 2.0 mm in height and 0.9 - 1.05 mm in width.
The majority of the species' range lies within Europe, with isolated records in North Iran.
In the main part of the range, the species is considered to be meeting the thresholds of 30% of population decline over the last 10 years. These declines are likely to become more severe in the future, as in this part of it's range the species mostly inhabits salt-marsh and coastal dunes, within fringing habitats of a gradient of groundwater levels (often marginal strips of vegetation less than 5m wide), and these habitats lie where sea defence construction will take place (especially in regions concerned about climate change and increased frequency of storm-surges at spring tides), and as such further declines in areas with pristine habitats might be expected.
Evidence from Ireland, where a significant 3 year survey (2008-2010) was undertaken on known extant sites, found 1 of the 21 known sites had been totally destroyed. A further 7 sites had decliend to a situation that the snail may already be lost or is likely to be lost in the near future. Site losses were in inalnd wetland habitats.
The snail is particularly vulnerable in Europe at wetland sites, which are difficult to protect, and in coastal sites which may be subject to increasing inundation. The UK sites are currently in good condition, but the future prospects are considered to be potentially poor as the vast majority of the population is found along sea wall defences and in estuarine habitats that are becoming increasingly vulnerable to inundation. Pressure to increase sea level defences with stronger, steeper walls could destroy the populations depending on the older more vulnerable defence bunds.
At a broad level, it appears to be present in a very wide range of habitat categories of maritime dune grassland and maritime or inland wetland (including fen, marsh, salt marsh and flood plain), but the micro-habitat within which it is restricted means that the exact conditions which its presence demands are rare, and a lot of habitat that is “almost correct” is devoid of the snail. Where fixed dunes have the correct habitat conditions, the snail may cover a large area of occupancy. Otherwise, it can be found in an often narrow transition zone between saltmarsh and dune, and in transition zones between grassland and wetland with short herbs, mosses and Iris. In Cumbria, it occurs in moss on limestone pavement. It is normally found on permanently moist but free-draining soils, not subject to prolonged inundation. Vertigo angustior is a groundwater-dependant species.
The main threats to the species are:
Modification of site hydrology
Heavy grazing/ lack of grazing
Supplementary feeding of livestock
Scrub encroachment
Eutrophication
Pesticides
Exposure to leisure activities (especially on coastal sites), e.g. caravan parks and marinas
Seawall construction and modification
Managed retreat of coastal marshes
Fragmentation of habitat
Artificial planting on open ground
Motorised vehicular damage to habitats
Rise of temperature and extremes
Sea level rise and flooding
Last edited: 03 January 2018 11:48:56
I wasn't very kind to snails in 2017 and did feel guilty but having kept up with this Thread I feel I should make an effort this year as soon as they make an appearance. There are so many I just don't know what to do with them. Could put them in a bucket and deposit them somewhere discreetly but obviously not a neighbour's plot. But where?? They had devoured so many of my plants and the lupins were their favourites.
If I hadn't left it so late I would have suggested A slipper(y) of snails for my contribution. I am sure you are all aware the correct term is "Escargatoire" but not a patch on the winners.
How do other posters eliminate snails in a kindly way?
You're right Philippa - this is why so many important creatures are under threat - not all of them look very "cute" and so don't get noticed.
And to many of these big business people and Governments, it's only money that looks cute
'New Year Squeezes' - I like that!
My pond snails appear to be doing well too. They live in an ornamental fountain - one of those plastic barrel and pump ones - and I feed them on Tetra Pleco Algae Wafers since there isn't much natural food in there for them.
I know you're teasing, Philippa - if we didn't both have a sense of humour we wouldn't have started the SLS!