| Some interesting facts about the Roman snail, Apple snail:
(Helix pomatia)
Natural habitat: Central, Southeast Europe (up to 2000m above sea level). It is supplied to South America.
Description: Helix pomatia - one of the largest terrestrial snails of Russia. They are terrestrial snails of the stalk-eyed order. The trunk of the snails is asymmetric, with a clearly noticeable head and wide flat foot. Snails have two pairs of tentacles and a pair of eyes on the head. The conch of the snail is spirally bent and forms 4.5 turns. Snails breathe air with the help of a lung.
Color:
The snails are single-colored and are usually orange-yellowish in color.
Size:
The height of the conch of edible snail is up to 45mm and a width of up to 47mm.
Weight:
22 - 45 gm
Life span:
6-8 years. In Sweden, a life expectancy of 35 years is registered.
Inhabitancy:
Mountains and valleys, deciduous forests, forest edges, meadows, parks and ravines, which have grown with bush, vineyards with cretaceous or calcareous soil, having an alkaline reaction.
Enemies:
Hedgehogs, mice, predatory insects (European ground beetles, bugs, crickets, flies, multilegs), frogs and toads, skunks, caresses, birds, lizards and other snails;
Diet:
The snail is a herbivore. It eats green foliage (leaves of wild strawberries, plantain, horse sorrel, dandelion, lungwort, burdock, nettle, horse-radish, cabbage and the radish) and humus. The diet of a snail consists of over thirty kinds of wild and cultural plants.
Behavior:
The snail is a hygrophilous animal. In dry weather, it hides under stones, in the shade of plants or in damp moss. In a dry summer, the snail becomes dull, inactive and falls into numbness. During this period, the snail gets into its shell, and pastes over its shell opening with a thin transparent film. As soon as the rains are over, it comes out of hibernation. The snail eats the remains of the film by thoroughly cleaning the edges of the shell opening. The heart beat drops up to one per minute. Usually, the snail spends the day hiding in its shell and comes out of it only at night for feeding. Snails are more active during nights and after a heavy downpour. The maximum speed of a snail is 7 cm/min. Snails go into hibernation if the temperatures drops up to 19-12C. Snails hibernate (sometimes in groups) in specially built hibernation chambers, which are dug in the soil up to a depth of 5-10 cm. During hibernation, the snails lose about 10% of their weight, which is restored within 4-6 weeks of coming out of hibernation. In spring, when the temperature is +6 to +8 C, it comes out of hibernation and leaves its winter refuge. Snails can withstand low temperatures, for example, a temperature of -7C for several hours. After hibernation, snails are especially sensitive to cold and drought. In the midlands, snails are awake for 4.5 - 5 months. The shell can withstand a pressure of up to 13.5 kilograms. |
There's a new delicacy craze this Christmas in France -
snail caviar. It started selling in October and quickly became popular. Pink-white caviar is recommended to be served with toast, at room temperature, slightly peppered, and definitely with a glass of Champagne.
