Cornu aspersum

Hey You! Slow Down Will You?

Hello all! Sorry I have been away for so long, and thank you to those who have been enquiring after me! 🙂 A message popped up today that it was my WordPress.com Birthday – 5 years! Where have all those years gone!

I thought I would return with a bit of humour. This Small Black Ant Lasius niger had a keen interest in this Garden Snail Cornu aspersum, to such a degree it managed to get stuck inside its shell!

‘Flaming June’ is living up to its name here, and wherever you are in the world I hope you are all safe and well and enjoying your season! I am very much looking forward to catching up on your posts!

All the best and take care … Pete

06/2106/21 by Peter Hillman Categories: PhotographyTags: Ant and snail racing, Cornu aspersum, Humour, Lasius niger 42 Comments

Making Molluscs

Apparently if you are a snail and are in a romantic mood all you need is a large green leaf, some shade, and a mate, of course. I found these pair of Garden Snails (Cornu aspersum) enjoying a romantic moment or two this morning at around 8:00, yet they were still at it over two hours later!

Looks like I am going to have baby snails in a couple of weeks time.

August 2017, rear garden, Staffordshire, England.

08/17 by Peter Hillman Categories: Animals, Animals (Invertebrates), Macro Photography, Molluscs, Nature Photography, Photography, Slugs & Snails, Wildlife PhotographyTags: Cornu aspersum, Garden Snail, Garden Snail Cornu aspersum, Garden Snail Cornu aspersum mating, Macro, Macro Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography, Slugs and snails, Snails, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography 25 Comments

Nobody At Home

I am always fascinated by the intricacies of shells, and how they have evolved to be so. I can’t help but gaze at the top image in wonderment, marvelling at the beauty and bio-engineering involved in its evolution over hundreds of millions of years. All this to protect and shelter the animal inside which had once been feasting on my garden plants.

Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum) rear garden, Staffordshire, England. August 2017.

08/1708/17 by Peter Hillman Categories: Animals, Animals (Invertebrates), Macro Photography, Molluscs, Nature Photography, Photography, Slugs & Snails, Wildlife PhotographyTags: Cornu aspersum, Garden Snail, Garden Snail Cornu aspersum, Macro, Macro Photography, Molluscs, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography, Slugs and snails, Snails, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography 13 Comments

On The Snail Trail

After another night’s heavy rainfall the Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum) is still out and about.

July 2017, rear garden, Staffordshire, England.

07/17 by Peter Hillman Categories: Animals, Animals (Invertebrates), Macro Photography, Molluscs, Nature Photography, Photography, Slugs & Snails, Wildlife PhotographyTags: Cornu aspersum, Garden Snail, Garden Snail Cornu aspersum, Macro, Macro Photography, Molluscs, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography, Slugs and snails, Snails, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography 9 Comments

We Love The Rain

Garden Snail Cornu aspersum — Garden Snail *(Cornu aspersum)*

After a fair bit of rain I can expect to find these snails out and about in the daytime, where usually they feed under the safe cover of darkness.

White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis — White-lipped Snail *(Cepaea hortensis)*

They can be a pest, especially to my bedding plants and the few vegetables I grow, and my Hosta which looks like it has been riddled with bullets. Yet I still find a fascination with these creatures, and how very well evolved they are for surviving on the land, as opposed to their seafaring cousins.

By the Mesozoic Era, some 248 million years ago, some of these gastropods had adapted in such a way they left the marine environment to live in freshwater and terrestrial habitats. And here they are now, munching through my garden after the June rain has fallen.

Rear garden, Staffordshire, England. June 2017.

06/17 by Peter Hillman Categories: Animals, Animals (Invertebrates), Macro Photography, Molluscs, Nature Photography, Photography, Slugs & Snails, Wildlife PhotographyTags: Cepaea hortensis, Cornu aspersum, Garden Snail, Garden Snail Cornu aspersum, Gastropods, Macro, Macro Photography, Molluscs, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography, Slugs and snails, White-lipped Snail, White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis, Wildlife Photography 25 Comments

A Petal For A Bed

Photograph of Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum) taken in September 2016, rear garden, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2016. Camera used Nikon D7200, with Sigma 105mm macro lens. ISO 400. 1/50 sec. f/7.1.

09/1609/16 by Peter Hillman Categories: Animals, Animals (Invertebrates), Molluscs, Nature Photography, Slugs & SnailsTags: Cornu aspersum, Flowers, Garden Snail, Macro, Macro Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Petals, Snails, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography 8 Comments

Garden Snail

You only have to pop out into your garden on a rainy day, or venture out during the night hours to find one of these slippery creatures going for your plants. This morning I happened to move my bird bath and there he was, hunkered down and sheltered for the day. However I awoke him, and as grumpy as he was (he blew bubbles at me), he obliged me a photo shoot between rain showers.

The shell of this snail can be marbled brown, black or yellow-ochre, and has fine wrinkles. Shell diameter 40mm.

Individuals contain both reproductive organs and are capable of self-fertilisation, although cross-fertilisation is the normal way.

They live in quite varied habitats, from woodland and hedgerows, to gardens and allotments, where they can be serious pests. Mainly feeding nocturnally, or after rain, they consume various plants, and can do a lot of damage. Common and widespread throughout lowland Britain, absent from most of Scotland.