Grove Snail

Cepaea nemoralis

Description:

The grove snail, also known as the brown-lipped snail (Cepaea nemoralis), is a species of air-breathing land snail (or terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc). It is the type species for the genus Cepaea and is one of the most common species of land snail in Europe, having a native distribution from north and western Europe to central Europe as well as Ireland and Great Britain. The colour of the shell is very variable, reddish, brownish, yellow or whitish, with or without dark brown colour bands. Apertural lip usually dark brown, rarely white.The surface of the shell is semi-glossy, and it has from 4½ to 5½ whorls. The width of the shell is 18–25 mm. The height of the shell is 12–22 mm. Polymorphism observed in this snail is genetically determined.

Habitat:

The grove snail occupies a very wide range of habitats from dunes along the coast to woodlands with full canopy cover. It lives in shrubs and open woods in plains and highlands, dunes, cultivated habitats, gardens and roadsides. The diet of this snail includes dead or senescent plants, carrion, fungi, moss and insects (aphids and thrips). It is not noxious to crops. This snail has frequently been observed aestivating on tree trunks. Like most Pulmonate land snails, it is hermaphrodite and must mate to produce fertile eggs. Mating tends to be concentrated in late spring and early summer, though it can continue through the autumn.The snails often store the sperm they receive from their partner for some time, and individual broods can have mixed paternity. In Britain it lays clutches of 30-50 oval eggs between June and August. Juveniles hatch after 15–20 days. Maturity is reached after the shell is fully grown. It is comparatively slow-growing, usually taking three years to develop from an egg to a breeding adult. Life-span can be up to eight years. In winter, the snails may hibernate, but can be active in warm spells.