238 HELICID.E. 



France, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, and Lugano, to 

 Sicily. 



Boucliard-Chantereaux says that the eggs of this 

 species, which are laid from May to September, are not 

 numerous, but very large in proportion to the size of 

 the animal. It hibernates early and makes a glassy or 

 papery epiphragm. It loves shade and moisture. It 

 has a remarkable habit, which it shares with the young 

 of Pupa secale, of covering its shell, or rather of causing 

 it to be covered, with a crust of fine earthy particles or 

 other extraneous matter, by means of its slime, or an 

 exudation from the epidermis. Adult as well as young 

 specimens are sometimes thus coated, but more frequently 

 the latter. It is perhaps an involuntary measure of 

 natui'al defence, with which many animals are provided, 

 in order to escape or delude their enemies; and even 

 the sharp eyes of a bird might be deceived by the dis- 

 guise which these little creatures put on. The Rev. 

 Revett Sheppard, in his interesting account of the Land 

 and Freshwater Shells of Suffolk, observes with respect 

 to the present species, "These shells, particularly in 

 their young state, show great sagacity and ingenuity by 

 covering themselves with an epidermis adapted to the 

 different situations in which they are found ; and when 

 so covered, it is almost impossible for any other than a 

 conchological eye to detect them. If its abode be upon 

 the trunk of a tree covered with Lichens, then is the 

 epidermis so constructed as to cause the shell to resemble 

 a little knot on the bark covered with such substances. 

 If on a smooth tree, from whose bark issue small sessile 

 buds, as is frequently the case, it will pass off very well 

 for one of them ; and on a dry bank, or the lower part 

 of the body of a tree splashed with mud, its appearance 

 will be that of a little misshapen pointed piece of dirt.^^ 



