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TERRESTRIAL SNAILS

 

 Helix aspersa, Helix spp.

& Predatory Rumina decollata

 

(Contacts)

 

 

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       The European brown garden snail, Helix aspersa, and other species of Helix have invaded agricultural and residential areas around the world.  In California Helix spp. have long been considered economic pests in gardens, nurseries and orchards.  They are omnivorous, eating living and decaying vegetation, flowers, ground covers, citrus leaves and fruit.  They are also cannibalistic on cadavers of their own species.

 

Helix aspersa

Rumina decollata

 

       Various attempts at biological control have been made, such as the introduction of the decollate snail, Rumina decollata (L.), which is predatory on Helix immatures and adults.  Prior to the introduction of Rumina decollata, the predatory staphylinid beetle Ocypus alens adapted to these snails in California and flies in the genus Sciomyzidae were also active.   As of 2014 a ninety-eight percent decline of both Helix and the decollate snail has been observed in many areas of southern California.  Because the decline occurred only after the introduction of R. decollata, this species interacting with the other natural enemies is probably primarily responsible for the dramatic decline of Helix spp. [For aquatic snails Please See <bc-37>].

 

       Please CLICK on blue highlighted references for further details:

 

 

PERTINENT  REFERENCES:  [Additional references may be found at:   MELVYL Library ]

 

Basinger, A. J.  1931.  The European brown snail in California.  Bull. Univ. Calif., College Agric. Exp. Stn., No. 515.  Berkeley, Calif.  22 pp., 16 figs.

 

Binney, W. G.  1878.  The terrestrial air-breathing molluscs of the United States and the adjacent territories of North America.  Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. IV.  439 pp., illus.

 

Fisher, T. W. & R. E. Orth.  1983.  The marsh flies of California (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Bull. Calif. Insect Surv. 24:  7, 1-117.  Univ. of Calif. Press.

 

Fisher, T. W. &  R. E. Orth.  1985.  Biological control of snails.  Occas. Papers. No. 1, Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of Calif. Riverside 111:  pp. 1-8.

 

154.   Fisher, T. W., I. Moore, E. F. Legner & R. E. Orth.  1976.  Ocypus olens, a predator of brown garden snail.  Calif. Agric. 30(3):  20-21, 3 figs.

 

Fisher, T. W., R. E. Orth & S. C. Swanson.  1980.  Snail against snail.  Calif. Agric. 34(11-12) 18-20.

 

Gordh, G. & R. E. Orth. 1987.  Book Review.  Insects and Mites:  Techniques for collection and preservation.  G. C. Steyskal, W. L. Murphy & E. Hoover. eds.  Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 89(4):  842-847.

 

Hanna, G. D.  1966.  Introduced mollusks of western North America.  Occ. Pap. Calif. Acad. Sci., No. 48.  108 pp., 85 figs., 4 pl.

 

Knutson, K. & R. E. Orth.  1984.  The Sepedon sphegea complex in the Palearctic and Oriental regions:  identity, variation and distribution (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 77:  687-701.

 

Knutson, L., R. E. Orth, T. W. Fisher & W. L. Murphy.  1986.  Catalog of Sciomyzidae of America north of Mexico.  Entomography 4:  1-53.

 

Knutson, L., R. E. Orth & R. Rozkosny.  1990a.  New North American Colobaea, with a preliminary analysis of related genera (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 92(3):  483-492.

 

Knutson, L., S. Manguin & R. E. Orth.  1990.  A second Australian species of Pherbellia Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera:  Sciomyzidae).  J. Aust. Ent. Soc. 29:  281-286.

 

Orth, R. E.  1982.  Five new species of Pherbellia Robineau-Desvoidy, subgenus Oxytaenia Sack, from North America (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 84(1):  23-37.

 

Orth, R. E.  1983.  Two new species of Pherbellia from North America (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 85(3):  537-542.

 

Orth, R. E.  1984a.  A new species of Pherbellia from Montana (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 86(3):  599-601.

 

Orth, R. E.  1984b.  A new species of Dicta from Mexico (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 86(4):  893-897.

 

Orth, R. E.  1986.  Taxonomy of the Sepedon fuscipennis group (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 88(1):  63-76.

 

Orth, R. E.  1987.  A new species of Pherbellia from North America with range extensions for P. hackmani and P. griseicollis (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 89(2): 260-271.

 

Orth, R. E.  1991.  A synopsis of the genus Dictya Meigen with ten new species (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 93(3):  660-689.

 

Orth, R. E. & T. W. Fisher.  1982.  A new species of Tetanocera Dumeril from Colorado (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 84(4):  685-689.

 

Orth, R. E. & T. W. Fisher.  1983.  A new species of Dictya from idaho (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 85(2):  217-221.

 

Orth, R. E. & L. Knutson.  1987.  Systematics of snail killing flies of the genus Elgiva in North America and biology of E. divisa (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 80(6):  829-840.

 

Orth, R. E. & Ian Moore.  1980.  A revision of the species of Cafius Curtis from the west coast of North America with notes on east coast species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae).  Trans. San Diego Soc. of Natural History 19(13:  181-211.

 

Orth, R. E. & G. C. Steyskal.  1981.  A new species of Pherbellia Robineau-Desvoidy separated from a previously described North American species (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 83(1):  99-104.

 

138.   Orth, R. E., I. Moore, T. W. Fisher & E. F. Legner.  1975.  A rove beetle Ocypus olens, with potential for biological control of the brown garden snail, Helix aspersa, in California, including a key to the Nearctic species of Ocypus.  Canad. Entomol. 107(10):  1111-1116.

 

156.   Orth, R. S., I. Moore, T. W. Fisher & E. F. Legner.  1975.  Biological notes on Ocypus olens, a predator of brown garden snail, with descriptions of the larva and pupa (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae).  Psyche 82(3-4):  292-298.

 

Orth, R. E., G. C. Steyskal & T. W. Fisher.  1980.  A new species of Pherbellia Robineau-Desvoidy with notes on the P. ventralis group (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 82(2):  284-292.

 

Stearns, R.  1881.  On Helix aspersa in California, and the geographical distribution of certain west American land-snails, and previous errors relating thereto, etc.  Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 2:  129-139.

 

Tryon, G. H.  1888.  Manual of oncology:  structure and systematics.  Pulmonata (Ser. 2) 4:  235.