Let me introduce myself
I am two years old, and stand 1-3/8" high. I travel 50 yards per hour and 6-10 times a year I spend several hours mating. My species, Helix aspersa, also known as the Brown Garden Snail and European Brown Snail, is one of the most common of the 40,000 land-based snails and slugs. My ancestors emigrated from Europe to California in the 1850s. They were first mentioned in scientific literature in 1774. They resided in Italy, then. It was probably great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great Uncle Oscar & his brood.
Born wearing a shell

My shell is made of calcium carbonate. It protects my heart, lung, kidney & intestines, and is also my house. I did not find it and crawl inside; I was born with it. Human embryos make teeth and nails; snail embryos make shells.
My shell has 3 layers, the hypostracum on the inside, ostracum in the middle and periostracum on the exterior.
Snail parts
My favorite foods
Who says lettuce is reserved for humans?

I'm not a fussy eater. Most any vegetable or fruit suits me. And there is nothing more lip-smacking good than a succulent young Hosta shoot. Love those old specimen plants but can take or leave Aden's concoctions. Invincible is purely loathsome from a snails point of view.
Turn about is fair play
My dinner preferences annoy the greedy humans to no end, which is absurd. I eat so little! True, slime trails have detractors, and humans get fussed about holes in their produce. If I could nibble the edges like a rabbit, I would. Or maybe not. Sharing their lettuce is the least humans can do, considering that they eat snails as party niblets!
Reportedly, I am nutritious. Rich in vitamins B1 & E, calcium,
protein and amino acids, low in fat, etc. Hah! That's
because in addition to vegetables and fruit I consume other yummies like rodent scat, rotting things, poisonous leaves, bark, etc. All of which means I sometimes carry a parasite that can cause a rare type of meningitis.
So before you run out into your back yard with a fork and plate, be advised that before you eat a snail, it must be purged of everything it has eaten (done by a series of gruesome starving and cereal gluts) and thoroughly cooked.
In France my cooked relatives are called Escargot, in Portugal
they're caracóis and feijoada de caracóis and in
Spain caracoles (arroz con conejo y caracoles if combined with
rice and rabbit). In Sicily they're known as babbaluci, in
Catalonia they're caragols and in Malta, bebbux.
Elsewhere's they're abalone, queen conch, periwinkle, tsalingaria, ass's ear,
sea-ear, ormer, paua.
Without a second thought, humans boil, broil, steam and can my kin, then garnish them with butter, smelly garlic, tomatoes, parsley and oregano. And they gripe because I eat a few oranges?!
Not much of a family man
Sorry, just not my thing
Pictured at left is one of my 6 mates last year. During an afternoon of sex, we impregnated each other. A few days later we each dug a 1-1/2" deep hole to hold about 80 couscous-sized white eggs. No telling how many survived. Some probably didn't make it out of the egg. As a newborn, Jonesing forcalcium, I first ate the shell I hatched from, then the shells of some unhatched siblings. First out, first fed, I always say. At least I don't live where the Decollate snail posses have been turned loose to eat youngsters.
Scientific discussion of snail eggs.
Everybody's out to get me!
Confessed Snail Lover
Learn more about snails: books on Amazon
Snail links
- Snail poems
- Poetry by Andrew Roberts
- Cupid origins traced to snails?
- Courting snails fire "love darts" at one another in a mating procedure that may even have inspired the legend of Cupid, according to Canadian...
- Ridin the Bird
- Tristania snails travel 5,500 miles
- Cone snails have killed 30 people
- Lethal snails?
- PetSnails.co.UK
- Great Q&A site on the African land snail
Home is where the Giant African snail is
Live Snails on Ebay
How fast is a snail's pace? Watch these videos and see for yourself.
Apple Snail Territory
Snailblogging
- What to do this (long) weekend, Feb. 16-20
- 800-745-3000. www.ticketmaster.com SHELL GAME: Prepare for Saturday's opening of ?Mollusks: Shelled...
- Miami battling invasion of giant African snails
- The US and Florida departments of agriculture have mobilized 34 agents to battle the infestation and...
- Bird sightings: common and Barrow's goldeneye
- Both species dive up to 20 feet for mollusks, crustaceans, insects and aquatic plants. Both are monogamous...
- Miami battling invasion of giant African snails
- The US and Florida departments of agriculture have mobilized 34 agents to battle the infestation and...
Escargot to your door, ready to heat & eat
Fly in frozen Escargot from France or stuff your own
Home is where the Snails are
Escargot items for Do-it-yourselfers
Escargot serving dishes on Ebay
Snails on display!
Photos of Snails on Flicker
Snails Rock!
More fun snail items to enjoy
Kids love snails too
Alice Wannabe - Refrigerator magnet features Victorian girl with giant snail
Snails around the house
Snails as Adornment
Do you talk snail?
-
Reply
-
jasmineann Nov 16, 2007 @ 8:58 am | delete
- Love your cool snail lens! Very informative. Your work and effort shows. Nice style :) A 5 star lens!
-
-
Reply
-
Mickmac Nov 3, 2007 @ 12:13 am | delete
- Great Lens, Although I have no interest in snails, I read the whole lens, from start to finish. You must be doing something right.
-
-
Reply
-
squidfun
Oct 31, 2007 @ 7:04 pm | delete
- All Things Michigan, I LOVE your Freaks and Geeks lens. What a great show it was.
http://www.squidoo.com/freaks-and-geeks
-
-
Reply
-
Home-Business-Marketer
Oct 31, 2007 @ 4:04 pm | delete
- Your lens is really looking great. Keep up the good work. 5 stars from me.
http://www.squidoo.com/workfromhomebusinesssuccesstips/
-
-
Reply
-
AllThingsMichigan
Oct 31, 2007 @ 4:03 pm | delete
- Excellent lens! You can tell that a TON of work went into this. Did you research snails or are you just a snail expert? ;)
-
-
Reply
-
InvoluntaryGypsy
Oct 31, 2007 @ 1:03 pm | delete
- I tried escargot. It was pretty good, actually. Fantastic lens, by the way.
-
-
Reply
-
Mr-Salesmanship
Oct 31, 2007 @ 9:06 am | delete
- Very nice lens, keep up the good work!
-
-
Reply
-
SusanVillasLewis
Oct 31, 2007 @ 7:36 am | delete
- Awesome job, particularly with the graphics. I also like the first-snail perspective of the writing. Great lens! (And escargot are yummy to the max!!)
-
by squidfun
Explore related pages
- Learn About Snails and Slugs Learn About Snails and Slugs
- Flatware Service Sets Flatware Service Sets
- No Money? Make Charity Donations Without Cash! No Money? Make Charity Donations Without Cash!
- Learn About Nudibranches - Sea Slug - Stunning Beauty Learn About Nudibranches - Sea Slug - Stunning Beauty
- The Secret Race: Anglo-Indians The Secret Race: Anglo-Indians
- Gardening Jargon: What It Really Means Gardening Jargon: What It Really Means







