wild edgesThe north west of south east WalesPosts: 5,623
Hide and seek
2
wild edgesThe north west of south east WalesPosts: 5,623
It's hard to find people who understand the excitement of finding hairy snails in your garden. Hopefully the SLS will get it Either way I've found a small colony of silky snails living in a patch of ivy and I'm very pleased. The FSC key book and the laminated field guide that were recommended by @pbff have been really helpful so thanks for getting the details of those for us.
I like this photo of one peeping out from under its shell
'Laminated Field Guide to Land Snails' by The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland https://www.conchsoc.org/node/6281 This looks really good and is only £2. Imogen did say that stock is low at the moment, but more are coming in soon.
Imogen says that this is the best ID key available and is complemented really well by the 'Laminated Field Guide to Land Snails' by The Conchological Society mentioned above.
This is the combo I went for. The laminated sheet is mostly just pictures with very few notes so you need the key to check things in more detail. I try and take a series of photos for the trickier ones like this trochulus striolatus Strawberry Snail. There's probably 3 or 4 identical looking snails in the laminated guide but habitat helps narrow them down using the key.
I have been teaching snails to swim or do long distance hiking. We are finding dozens a day at the mo in among my treasures. Depending on where they are I take them for a walk to the pond to entertain the frogs or I toss them in the hedgerow across the road and let them take their chances negotiating the ditch on either side and the road between and then the gravelled drive.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
'Laminated Field Guide to Land Snails' by The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland https://www.conchsoc.org/node/6281 This looks really good and is only £2. Imogen did say that stock is low at the moment, but more are coming in soon.
Imogen says that this is the best ID key available and is complemented really well by the 'Laminated Field Guide to Land Snails' by The Conchological Society mentioned above.
This is the combo I went for. The laminated sheet is mostly just pictures with very few notes so you need the key to check things in more detail. I try and take a series of photos for the trickier ones like this trochulus striolatus Strawberry Snail. There's probably 3 or 4 identical looking snails in the laminated guide but habitat helps narrow them down using the key.
Thanks for the links and the explanation the guide is best used in conjunction with the key. I've always been a slug fan, but time to take more notice of snails. There are few common land species I know and the various native pond species, but generally it is just big ones, medium ones and small ones to me when it comes to snails.
I do know someone in the garden club who farms her garden snails for personal consumption. Not for me. I can think of better ways to eat garlicky butter.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
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I thought "great recipes for snails" meant tasty arrangements of leaves and flowers for the dear creatures to eat.