Garden Snail - Cornu aspersum

Alternative names
Helix aspersa
Description

Shell height 25 to 35 mm, width 25 to 40 mm. This snail has a thick shell with a rough wrinkled surface and with 4.5 to 5 whorls. The umbilicus is completely sealed by the lip. Mouth large, with a thickened white lip. Shell usually pale brown, occasionally yellow, with 0 to 5 dark spiral bands, variable and often flecked with white or yellow-brown. Laterally there are yellow zig-zagging stripes.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Very varied. Often associated with man in gardens and parks, but also in dunes, woods, rocks and hedgerows.

Life History

Mainly nocturnal but will emerge after rain during the day. Although able to self fertilise most snails mate with another snail, generally during early summer.

UK Status

Common and widespread throughout lowland Britain.

VC55 Status

Very common in Leicestershire and Rutland.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Common Garden Snail, Garden Snail
Species group:
Slugs & Snails
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Pulmonata
Family:
Helicidae
Records on NatureSpot:
499
First record:
14/09/1985 (Rundle, Adrian)
Last record:
04/03/2024 (Pugh, Dylan)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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