Have your children ever brought homegrape snails? Probably yes. But did not you expect with great interest when you were a child, when will this animal appear from an intricate hut and expose the moving horns? Most likely, it was. Let's get acquainted with these animals closer, because snails are even bred at home. For what? Let's see. So, our "guinea pig" is a grape snail.
Snails have many different names, and they depend onregions of its habitat. For example, in ancient Rome, there were special street farms, because it turns out that these animals are very tasty and in many countries are considered a delicacy to this day. In our time, the snail is known throughout Europe, except for places where the climate is too harsh. But even in spite of the harsh, sometimes little snow-covered winters, it feels quite well in the Moscow region.
Grape snail shows activityexclusively in the warm season. She can wait for winter, burrowing 5-10 cm deep into the earth. Does this when the temperature drops below 10-12 degrees. Closing the mouth of the shell with a calcareous lid, the animal falls asleep until the onset of spring.
Раковина улитки виноградной достаточно прочная.It can withstand up to 13 kg of weight. The porous structure allows it to weigh less if sufficient strength, and also to accumulate moisture. The color of the shell depends on the habitat of the cochlea.
In summer, a grape snail lives inthickets of bushes, in gardens and parks, light forest edges, and always near the pond. The soil in the habitat of the animal is often limestone, and it is associated with the calcium salts that are needed to build a shell. The snail leads a nocturnal or twilight way of life and adores high humidity. And after the rain, it is especially active.
Maybe it will seem strange, but the snailGrape live long. Often in nature this animal reaches the age of 20 years. Of course, this is possible if the snail is not eaten (hedgehogs, birds, mice, caresses, etc.), or it will not get to a person who destroys these animals as pests.
The snail feeds on plants (both cultivated andand wild): fresh or rotten leaves, young shoots. Snail loves strawberries, grape leaves, mugs, dandelions, cabbage, even horseradish and nettles do not pass by. This animal is considered an agricultural pest, because the snail harms the young shoots of cultivated plants. There are even countries that have banned the importation of these animals into their territory.
Nowadays, given the fact that grapethe snail, the care of which is rather simple, is considered a delicacy, this animal is bred on farms in France, Spain, Greece, Germany. Snail meat contains 10% protein, 30% fat and 5% carbohydrates. It is rich in vitamins and trace elements.
But a snail, the photo of which you cansee, possesses meat, which is a strong aphrodisiac and is applied to cosmetology. Also, biologically active substances have caused the use of the cochlea in medicine for the production of drugs for bronchitis and diabetes.
