NeW YORK SHELL CLUB NOTES 
Page 4 May 1977 NG. 25e 
the animals in special 
monasteries where the monks used to keep pee i obably. capareet 
"snai dens." Into Holland, Helix aspe 
Peltces te kaatatn Europe as a fasting treat (van Benthem Jutting, 
(1941). 
3 211i that Helix aspersa has recently 
Outside Zurope, Ellis (1969) Be nace oe Nerth and South America, 
been introduced into South Africa, c 
and many places in the Australian region. About 1860 Frenchmen and 
Italians brought H. aspersa to Chile where the animals reproduced 
on caused enormous damage in the 
in such vast numbers that they so o I 
vineyards (Floericke, 1920). The snail reached South Australia by 
way of Adelaide where it was deliberately introduced and liberated 
before 1879 in a cemetery "in the hope that it would help in eradi- 
cating introduced slugs" (Pomeroy & Laws, 1967). It now occurs ~ 
widely throughout the agricultural regions of the State, although it 
is confined to areas with summer watering which may mean that here 
it can only become a pest of irrigated crops and market gardens. It 
has been introduced into South Carolina, Louisiana, California and 
Colorado (McCoy & Neldon, 1962). According to Stearns (1900) the 
"Suropean Brown Snail" was brought to California between 1850 and 
1860 from France and turned out among the vineyards. In 1869 Binney 
reported it from South Carolina, Louisiana, Maine and from Nova 
Scotia in Canada. 
Agricultural pest. Apart from the considerable damage which Helix 
aspersa causes to vegetable and flower gardens, its potential danger 
to other crops is evident. In southern California, it is very com- 
mon in the citrus groves (Papvas & Carman, 1955 and 1961) and does 
considerable damage to leaves and fruit (Basinger, 1931). In Israel, 
Harpaz & Oseri (1961) found that it is yet hardly noticeable on cit- 
rus. In the Madeiran archipelago H. aspersa is now to be found in 
banana plantations, where it congregates on the stems of the plants 
in the folds of the emerging leaves (Cook et al., 1972). 
Preadaptations. Helix aspersa seems to be preadapted to the kind of 
human dispersal described. Like most iveicna Madi Ceoneriaae bene 
snails, it has the ability to survive ina dormant state (aestiva- 
tion) for many months during the warm and dry Summer, a feature which 
Pomeroy & Laws (1967) consider "an ideal attribute for long range 
dispersal by man." This feature and subsequent dispersal is similar 
in Theba pisana. Aestivation is basically not different from hiber- 
nation. Both Helix aspersa and Theba pisana hibernate in England 
sng are thus forced into summer activity. In the Mediterranean re- 
gion, H. aspersa and fT. pisana are naturally limited to narrow coast- 
colonies beyond regions of mild mariti i i 
ime climatic regime. Steusloff 
yee) “eee ied H. aspersa had many times been janet fh to Eien ern 
y om e€ west and breeding colonies had been started. Never- 
