Snail Reproduction

I have a long time love affair with creepy crawlies. Growing up, my parents instilled an appreciation of the natural world in myself and my sister and this parlayed into our playtime in ways we wouldn't be able to appreciate until we were older.

In the early spring, when the ponding basin near our house was almost full from winter rainfall, little toads, about the size of a pinky fingernail, would start popping up in near biblical proportions. My sister and I would run through the streets with margarine tubs, scooping the little guys up out of the way of traffic. Our yard quickly became known as a toad haven.

On camping trips in the summer we often took hikes though the meadows surrounding our tent site. On this one particularly beautiful day, me, my mom and sister saw what looked like bubbles foaming on tall stalks of Corn Lily. Turned out we were witnessing spittle bug nymphs feeding. Instead of squealing and running away we leaned in closer for a better view.

But sometimes being a scientist's kid who also loves weird things can have unexpected consequences.

The other day I was on my way out the car and I see two snails snuggled up together on the hose winder. Now, I like snails, I really do. in fact, the tinier the snail, the more likely I am to pick it up and let is crawl around on my hand. But they are pests and we are truly overrun by them. Last spring I found hundreds of baby snails clustered at the base of the only rose bush I still own, which was a gift from my parents. The rest of my roses succumbed to frosts and relocation.

So anyhow, seeing two snails out on a very cold day in early February piqued my interest and I decided to pick one of them up. To my mild horror, both of them came up together as they were attached to one another with long, slender yellow stalks. Being an observant person, who is deeply interested in science I thought "Ew ew gross! Snail penis!" Because I am mature like that.

As I shook off the shock of interrupting snail coitus it dawned on me that if they were mating, that would mean more snail caused carnage come spring when the eggs hatched. I tossed the two of them down and stepped on them. Then, I suffered guilt.

You see, even though they are pests, and very very destructive, snails are undeniably adorable to me and in some ways, represent the struggles we all face in life. Stepping on those snails was like stepping on a friend.

A spineless, mucousy friend.