What are the living habits and natural enemies of the white jade snail?

The white jade snail is also called the African giant snail, east wind snail, dew snail, brown cloud agate snail, vegetable snail, etc., and is one of the larger types of land snails. The white jade snail generally comes out at night to move about and forage, is one of the invasive alien species in our country, and is also a pest harmful to crops. Below let us take a look together at the living habits and natural enemies of the white jade snail.

I. Living habits of the white jade snail

The white jade snail is a species that can burrow into the soil to rest, and can absorb nutrients from the soil, such as calcium and organic matter. In addition, burrowing into the soil can also regulate body temperature, water and humidity; avoid attacks from enemies and lay eggs. The white jade snail generally comes out at night to move about, because they are very afraid of sunlight, and are especially sensitive when directly exposed to sunlight. So, how does the white jade snail see at night? Even in a low-light environment, visibility can reach six or seven cm, while under strong light it is only one cm of visibility. This is also one of the reasons why it only comes out at night.

The white jade snail likes humid environments, especially on sultry nights, when their activity becomes even more vigorous, because the temperature and humidity at this time are very suitable for them.

As an omnivorous white jade snail, it usually eats green plants, especially juicy and leafy vegetables, melons and fruits, plant leaves, etc. If it is very hungry and there is no food, they will even kill and eat each other. The white jade snail does not like foods with very strong irritation, that is to say, they do not dare to go near salty foods.

The white jade snail has very strong vitality; without water and without food they can still survive for two months, and some can even eat cement, which is really terrifying.

II. What natural enemies does the white jade snail have?

Every living thing has natural enemies, so what animals are the natural enemies of the white jade snail? Here we need to distinguish between wild and artificially farmed situations. For wild white jade snails, the main natural enemies are rodents, snakes, birds, centipedes, ants, mites, etc. The natural enemies of artificially farmed white jade snails are ants, ticks and mice.

1. Ants

I believe everyone is familiar with ants. They are arthropods with many species, but their lifespan is very long; some can live from several years to several decades. We can see that ants are actually very intelligent creatures, especially in transporting food, moving in groups and working together. If ants gather at the opening of the snail's shell, they will bite the soft body of the white jade snail. Adult white jade snails are still all right, but young white jade snails have poorer resistance, and gradually they will become ill and die.

2. Ticks

Ticks, also called gall mites, generally gather on the snail's shell and soft body, making it gradually become thinner and then die.

3. Mice

Mice are a creature we deeply hate; wherever they are, they give people goosebumps, because they are also carriers of bacteria and like to move about in environments such as garbage bins, food and cabinets. Mice will directly swallow and eat the white jade snail.