It came out of a snail shell
But it's not a snail. It's an isopod, specifically, a Philoscia muscorum*. Here it is before it was forcefully evicted from its abode, a shell of Cepaea nemoralis that was devoid of a snail.
Of the about 130 Cepaea shells I collected last weekend, 3 had isopods in them. Empty land snail shells are prime real estate for many invertebrates that are small enough to fit in them. I took that sentence verbatim from this post where the occupant of the shell was a thrips.
I am thinking of putting some empty snail shells in my yard to see if any isopods will move in.
*Thanks to Joan and Barbara for conforming the ID.
6 comments:
awww.... a rolly bug! i think they're so cute.
You're quite lucky when it comes to arthropods inside your shells Aydin.
Or should I call you Mr. Orstan?
Call me Master. No, Aydin is fine.
Yes it sure is great real estate! If I was that size, or a bit smaller still, I would love to live in a shell of Cepaea nemoralis. It would be sort of like living in the main part of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, but perhaps even more beautiful; imagine the color of the light as the sun shines through the shell! But I suppose I would have to keep a little stick with me, in order to chase away the woodlice or "chuggy pegs" as they were known in North Devon when I was a child. Or maybe I could make myself a little saddle and ride them around!
Susan J. Hewitt
Watch out for spiders, for they like the empty shells too.
Oh dear, I forgot about spiders! I guess I will need a shell with a calcareous epiphragm and a way of keeping it closed too!
Susan J Hewitt
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