HELICIGONA LAPICIDA. 403 
_ Reproduction and Development.—Nothing whatever is recorded 
of the sexual amenities of this species, but it is highly probable that the 
male element is transferred by means of a spermatophore spirally coiled in 
the manner indicated by the character of the flagellum wherein it is formed: 
Gassies has chronicled that the eggs are very small and white, about thirty 
in number, and deposited during June and July; but this also probably 
takes place much earlier, as young shells, six mill. in 
diameter, have been noticed by Dr. Weinland to be <2 
abundant during June in Wurtemburg. ‘Ihe shell in : 
its immature stage greatly resembles that of //edlia pee aOe 
obese ‘s : H. lapicida, immature. 
explanata, being very flat above and abruptly swollen Dovedale. 
below, and at this period is said to be the 7. complunata MG 1. Musson. 
of Schrank, and according to Dr. Gwyn Jeffreys is the Helix somershamiensis 
of Sheppard. It does not acquire its full development until the end of 
the following year. 
Food and Habits.—Few observations have been made upon the 
natural food, but the late Mr. Loydell is stated to have observed it feeding 
upon the foliage of Enchanter’s Nightshade (Cirewa lutetiana) at Brackley 
in Northamptonshire ; Mr. F. Rhodes has noted them devouring Ivy leaves ; 
Mr. F. Booth those of Purmelia parietina ; and Mr. F. Morey records that 
at Shanklin, Isle of Wight, it has been noticed coming to “sugar” spread 
on the tree trunks for moths. ‘I'hey are also carnivorous on occasion, Mr. 
Charles Ashford having reported that a half-erown //. lapicida to get at 
the animal had bitten through the last whorl of-a Hyaliniu celluria con- 
fined in the same box. 
This species is especially sensitive to moisture, and its form is admirably 
adapted for concealment within the narrow cracks and crevices of rocks, 
ete., so that it is difficult and almost impossible to find in dry weather, but 
after continued or heavy rain the animal emerges and swarms over the 
rocks and walls, and ascends the trunks of the beech, sycamore, and other 
trees to a great height. In ordinary weather it feeds by night, and must 
be sought for at break of day, as in dry weather it quickly hides itself deeply 
in the rock crevices as the day advances. It carries its shell almost hori- 
zontally, but it may also be carried at an angle of 45° to 50°, and when the 
animal is in motion the lower margin of the shell touches the ground at 
each extension of the body. 
‘his species especially favours limestone rocks and soils, but is not by 
any means confined to them, especially in the warmer and more genial 
districts, where it has been noticed commonly even on granitic and other 
primitive rocks, and about Angers, Maine-et-Loire, and also elsewhere, is 
exclusively found on the sandstone. It especially frequents old, ivy-covered 
walls and dry, lofty and exposed rocks and cliffs, in which there are an 
abundance of fissures or crevices, available for concealment and shelter 
from drought and enemies; it is also frequently found beneath the loose 
bark of old trees and even in hedges and ditch banks on the plains. 
On the limestone hills of North Staffordshire, according to Mr. J. Rh. B. 
Masefield, it ascends to an altitude of more than 1,000 feet; and in the 
Pass of Winnats, Derbyshire, the Rev. R. A. Bullen found it at 1,250 feet. 
In the mountains of Moravia and Silesia, it reaches to a height of about 
2,000 feet. On Mont Dore in the Auvergne Mountains of Central France 
it ascends to nearly 4,000 feet; in the Pyrenees, at Cauterets, to 4,000 feet, 
the zone of H. aspersa and of the beech, and in another portion of the 
same range it approaches 5,000 feet,and inhabits the zone of Helix fontent//e7, 
