What are the natural enemies of snails and what are the natural enemies of snails

Snails are invertebrates, molluscs, gastropods, lung snails, snails. The shell is generally low-conical, right- or left-handed. The head is conspicuous, with 2 pairs of antennae, and the apex of the large 1 pair has eyes.

The ventral surface of the head has a mouth with a toothed tongue that can be used to scrape food. [1]

Snails have carapaces, are shaped like small snails, and are diverse in color; The head has four antennae, the head is extended when walking, and the head and tail are retracted into the carapace together when frightened; Snails have saliva on their bodies, which can restrain centipedes and scorpions. In June and July, when it is hot, it hangs under the leaves and rises high until it dies after salivaing. [1]

Snails are the animals with the most teeth, but their teeth are not "three-dimensional teeth". Despite having tens of thousands of teeth, they are unable to chew food. This is because they crush food with a toothed tongue – a ribbon-like structure covered with teeth – so that it can be digested.

Over the course of a lifetime, their tiny teeth slowly wear out and dull and are replaced by new, sharper teeth. Snail excretion is excreted close to the breathing hole, which is called a stomata. It will drain its feces on its body, eventually leaving it on the ground through its gastropods and mucus.

1] The mantle cavity of the snail will form 1 opening at the mouth of the shell, called the "breathing hole", which is where the gas enters and exits. If you look closely, the breathing holes will often open and close, like the "nose" used by a snail to breathe; When the snail is retracted into the shell, it still leaves the opening of the breathing hole at the mouth of the shell to breathe. The mantle is often between the feet or visceral masses, forming a cavity that communicates with the outside world, which is called the "mantle cavity".

The respiratory organs of the snail are hidden in the mantle cavity, and sometimes through the snail's shell, you can vaguely see the dense network of pulmonary blood vessels under the shell, most of which are located on the anterior side, near the direction of the head, which is the location of the mantle cavity. [1]

The deadliest natural enemies of snails are the larvae of terrestrial fireflies.

Firefly larvae can find the location of the snail through the traces left by the snail crawling, and when the snail is found, the larvae use three pairs of legs to fix the body to the snail shell, then burrow into the snail shell, pierce the needle-like palate into the soft part of the snail and release the anesthetic, so that the snail can stop struggling, and finally secrete digestive juices from the mouth, break the snail into fluids, and inhale them into their own abdomen.

Adult flea flies are grayish-brown, small, about 1-2mm long, can walk, jump, fly, and like to suck the tender juice of snails, resulting in a large number of snail deaths.

The natural predator of the African snail is the firefly.

Fireflies are small, but they are the snail's biggest predator and nemesis. Fireflies mainly feed on snails and crustaceans, including snails. And when the firefly is still a larvae, it can eat away at the snail's body.

Sometimes you see that the snail only has one shell left, and most likely it has been eaten by the larvae of the firefly.

Although the firefly is small, it does not directly devour the snail, but instead stabs the pointed front jaw into the snail's soft tease and injects the snail with a toxin. The snail is then paralyzed by the toxin and slowly turns into a puddle of liquid, so that the larvae of the firefly feast on the snail until it is left with an empty shell.

Habits

The African giant snail is diurnal, gregarious, and prefers a shady and humid environment. During the day, it inhabits dark and damp shelters and hides under humus-rich and loose soils, in garbage heaps, haystacks, soil holes or rocky holes. 8:00 p.m

After 00, the activity begins to climb out, and the peak of activity is from 9:00 to 11:00.

The next morning, around 5:00 a.m., return to your place of origin or hide nearby.

Fear of light and heat, most afraid of direct sunlight. Extremely sensitive to the environment, when the humidity and temperature are not suitable, the snail will retract its body into the shell and secrete mucus to form a protective film to seal the shell mouth to overcome the interference of the adverse environment.

Snails refer to all terrestrial species of the class Gastropoda. The natural enemies of snails are as follows:

1. Fireflies: also known as luminous, take the old sedum, such as glittering, night light, flowing fireflies, night candles, bright nights, etc., belonging to the Coleoptera firefly family, is a small beetle, because its tail can emit fluorescent, so it is called Lashan firefly, its larvae will eat the body of the snail, and the adult will lay eggs in the body of the snail;

2. Mealy mite: a common name for a class of mites in the family Mealymites, it is a common pest in China that causes great loss of quality and quantity to the storage, and lives in groups, feeding on the body fluids and epidermal mantle of snails or slugs;

3. Snail eating beetle: It is an insect of the Coleoptera beetle family, with a body length of about 16 to 24 mm. It is characterized by its long, slender and hooked mouthparts, which can be used to hook snail meat out of the thick carapace.

The deadliest natural enemies of snails are fireflies (larvae eat away at the snail's body, and the adults lay eggs inside the snail's body).There are also snails and mice