Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Nov 5;15(11):865.
doi: 10.3390/insects15110865.

Garden Snail Predatory Insects' Modus Operandi Under Laboratory Conditions

Giulia Murgia  1 , Valentina Coroneo  2 , Carlo Zuddas  1 , Sara Maria Pani  2 , Maria Paola Cogoni  1
Affiliations

Garden Snail Predatory Insects' Modus Operandi Under Laboratory Conditions

Giulia Murgia et al. Insects. .

Abstract

Heliciculture farms are susceptible to significant biotic issues that can impact snail breeding, among them, the entomofauna predation of snails. Predatory insects can cause damage to snail shells during predation, and sometimes, the specific type of damage may be characteristic of certain insect families or species. Under laboratory conditions, we analysed the predatory activity of the species Silpha tristis Illiger, 1798 (Coleoptera: Silphidae), Ocypus olens (Müller, 1764) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), Carabus (Macrothorax) morbillosus constantinus Kraatz, 1899 (Coleoptera: Carabidae), and Lampyris sardiniae Geisthardt, 1987 (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) against the gastropod Cornu aspersum (Müller, 1774) reared on snail farms located in the Sardinian region. The adult and larval stages of each species were tested, except for L. sardiniae, as only the larval stage preys upon snails. This study showed that among all of the species considered, only two insects were able to damage the shell of C. aspersum: C. morbillosus constantinus and O.olens. This may prove valuable in C. aspersum breeding for the recognition of specific lesions, even in the absence of the predator.

Keywords: Cornu aspersum; Helix aspersa; shell lesions; snail farming; snail predatory beetle.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Dead snails with damaged shells found during the sampling of snail farms in Sardinia (photo by Giulia Murgia).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Species of Coleoptera involved in this study during predatory activities (photos by Giulia Murgia).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Example of the terrarium used for the experiment (photo by Giulia Murgia). The experimental terrarium had a fine-mesh polyester screen (0.25 mm) top to prevent the entry of opportunistic insects. Environmental conditions: temperature 23 °C and relative humidity 80%. Substrate composed of topsoil, wood, and fine gravel (0.5 mm) to promote drainage. Nutrition: plant-based substrate.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Shell damage of an 18–22 mm shell caused by adult Ocypus olens (photo by Giulia Murgia).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Shell damage of a 30–35 mm shell caused by adult Carabus morbillosus costantinus (photo by Giulia Murgia).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Shell damage of an 18–22 mm shell caused by adult Carabus morbillosus costantinus (photo by Giulia Murgia).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Avagnina G., Coerezza U., Fontana M., Fossati P., Vitali E. Manuale di Corretta Prassi Operativa in Materia di Elicicoltura. Istituto Internazionale di Elicicoltura di Cherasco; Cherasco, Italy: 2015.
    1. Murgia G., Loi F., Cappai S., Cogoni M.P. Entomological Investigation of the Main Entomatic Adversities for Terrestrial Gastropods Helix aspersa Müller (Mollusca Gastropoda Pulmonata): A Preliminary Study in Sardinian Heliciculture Farms. Insects. 2022;13:660. doi: 10.3390/insects13070660. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Němec T., Horsák M. Specific damage recognised on land snail shells as a tool for studying predation intensity. Differences related to habitat and predator types. Contrib. Zool. 2019;88:277–296. doi: 10.1163/18759866-20191402. - DOI
    1. Brandmayr P., Brandmayr T.Z. Food and feeding behaviour of some Licinus species (Coleoptera Carabidae Licinini) [(accessed on 17 October 2024)];Monit. Zool. Ital.-Ital. J. Zool. 2013 20:171–181. Available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00269786.1986.10736497. - DOI
    1. Symondson W.O. Natural Enemies of Terrestrial Molluscs. CABI; Wallingford, UK: 2004. Coleoptera (Carabidae, Staphylinidae, Lampyridae, Drilidae and Silphidae) as predators of terrestrial gastropods; pp. 37–84. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources