An invasion of large black snails is taking place in Budapest
The invasion of the cirada snail seems unstoppable: in some places it displaces our native snail from its habitats and can cause serious damage to parks and gardens.
After the big afternoons in the late afternoon, most of the people of Budapest probably don’t try to observe the snails emerging in parks, in a huge rainy, bushy corner. Whoever does, in addition to the well-known giant snail, is getting more and more in place and in a larger number with another species: its body is soot-black, and its housing bears a varied black and yellowish pattern.
It is a distant relative of the giant snail (or simply snail) native to us, and studies to date show that even a serious opponent is able to displace the native species from its habitat. Due to his great appetite and his tendency to roam the countryside, he can wreak havoc even in small gardens.
As for its size, of course, everything is relative. However, it is one of the largest of the 8 to 10-centimeter body and up to 5 centimeters in diameter of its snails – much more land than the aforementioned snail, Europe’s largest snail.
About the invasive species Dr. Gergely Páll-Brown zoologist, malacologist (field of mollusc science), ELKH Agricultural Science Research Center Institute of Plant Protection we asked his senior researcher.
Find it, report it
The Cirada snail is native to North Africa and is native to the western Mediterranean, but with human help it began its conquest in ancient times with the fact that the Greeks spread it to their homeland, presumably for food. High commodity value, however, the large-scale invasion of Europe is a product of the modern age, with the increase in traffic and people, eggs, and even adults, can easily travel long distances.
In Hungary, in the 1970s, the first sighting came from Tihany, and that population has been alive and well ever since. It also appeared in the capital in the 1990s, but no one has been researching the species in Hungary until recent years.
– Pál-Gergely Barna tells 24.hu.
In fact, we have nothing to wonder about, we find quite a few specialists specializing in snails, let alone here at home. Barna Páll-Gergely followed in her footsteps in 2018, currently with a student, Rikk with Vera conducted the research.
The survey relies heavily on the help of the population, can be read here the call is how we can help the work of scientists with just one photo. There are also data from some rural cities, but the focus is currently on Budapest: the presence of ciradas is known in a total of 180 locations, of which 130 are within the administrative boundaries of Budapest and 20 outside the capital and Pest County. Of the 80 national data on the white-banded snail (another introduced species), 70 come from Budapest, on the Buda side.
He is displacing his homeland
Thus, there are no national data due to the lack of capacity, but in Budapest the intense spread of the non-native snail can be seen, which is bad news for the giant snail. Preliminary results from field studies show that:
What is the reason of this? It is generally true that if the environmental conditions for an introduced species in their new homeland are favorable, they will benefit from the absence of traditional predators, parasites and pathogens, while it itself may spread fatal diseases to native organisms.
He walks in a group, ruining the garden
In our case, the advantage of circus is now that it has a high individual density and multiplicity, as it lays more eggs and becomes sexually mature sooner than the snail. He likes the “crowd”, dozens are concentrated in a given area, they also march in groups for winter and summer rest – the same preparation for mass wintering directs attention to the “bugs” of ladybugs or bugs every fall. The point is that many animals quickly consume the food available, displacing giant snails.
In any case, the latter is characterized by the avoidance of “mass” if too many individuals are concentrated in a habitat and do not reproduce until their density decreases. Therefore, the giant snail cannot be bred economically
– notes the malacologist.
He adds that the behavior of ciradas in this group is also a threat to garden owners, as many snails can cause great damage in a short period of time. According to the researcher, as a permanent commissioner, they appear to be more prolific and greedy, as well as less picky than their domestic relatives. People also like big, married snails, there wasn’t a single feedback that someone collected them from the snails in the garden and then released them into a park or ditch, which also contributes greatly to the spread of the invasive species.
Due to its natural spread and the amazing volume of goods, we can be sure that large areas of Hungary are infected with the invasive snail, and their invasion is only increasing. However, Gergely Páll-Gergely is not afraid that the huge snail will disappear from Hungary in time: it is an extremely hardy, broad-tolerant species, at most the proportions will change in some places in favor of the introduced species.