General Description

Shell round, slightly flattened and with 4-5 spiral turns (whorls). Colour white with brown stripes of varying thickness. Shell up to 3 cm across.

Biology

White Italian Snails are herbivores and a pest of gardens, crops and pastures. In summer, they form clusters on cereal plants or trees with a similar snail Cernualla virgate. In addition to damaging crops, they are a problem for agriculture as they clog machinery and contaminate grains during harvest. White Italian Snails begin to reach reproductive maturity at a year old and reach their maximum size after two years. They are hermaphrodites which reproduce sexually with other individuals. Eggs are laid several centimetres deep in soil and hatch after twenty days of more.

Distribution

Europe, North America, Africa, Asia. Southern mainland Australia and Tasmania.

Habitat

Open scrub and gardens, also coastal sand dunes.

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