Garden Snail: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Fast and Slow · day 7 of 7

Five facts

1. When garden snails mate, each stabs a chalky "love dart" into its partner. The dart's mucus helps more sperm escape being digested.
2. In winter a garden snail rewrites its blood chemistry to stop ice forming, surviving down to -5 °C.
3. Garden snail sperm can stay viable for up to four years. A clutch holds about 50 eggs, each 3 mm wide.
4. Race-track tests show a garden snail barely reaches 2.4 mm/s, yet it remembers its way back to its hibernation spot.
5. In dry weather, a garden snail seals its shell door with dried mucus, an "epiphragm", to lock in moisture.

The quiz

1. What does a mating garden snail stab into its partner?

• A drop of slime only
• A tiny pebble
• A chalky "love dart" (correct)
• A piece of shell

It stabs a chalky love dart coated in mucus into its partner.

2. How cold can a garden snail survive in winter?

• Down to -5 °C (correct)
• Down to -50 °C
• Down to 5 °C
• Down to -25 °C

It rewrites its blood chemistry to survive down to -5 °C.

3. How long can garden snail sperm stay viable?

• Up to four days
• Up to four weeks
• Up to forty years
• Up to four years (correct)

Sperm can stay viable for up to four years.

4. What can a garden snail do after wandering?

• Climb a tree
• Return to its hibernation spot (correct)
• Dig a new burrow
• Follow another snail

It has a strong homing instinct and readily returns to its usual hibernation spot.

5. What is a garden snail's "epiphragm"?

• A hard shell spike
• A sticky trail marker
• A dried-mucus door that locks in moisture (correct)
• A winter fur coat

It seals the shell door with dried mucus to lock in moisture.

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