One of my solar-powered garden lights has become home to a colony of snails. Typically about 20 congregrate there every day, mainly on the north face of the light (see Photo, right), but none on the solar panel. Are they adapting to 21st-century technology and using solar power to extend their periods of access to warmth and light?
• The snail pictured is the garden snail, Helix aspersa or Cornu aspersum, which was accidentally introduced into England, probably in Roman times, by trade with mainland Europe. Among other habitats, it is associated with disturbed areas such as gardens and waste ground.
Avoiding loss of water is a major priority in the life of a snail, and is perhaps the single most important factor influencing their day-to-day activity and behaviour. As a result snails are essentially reclusive animals, spending much of their lives hidden away in sheltering microhabitats. Gardeners will be ...
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