Nature Bulletin No. 378-A    April 18, 1970
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
George W. Dunne, President
Roland F. Eisenbeis, Supt. of Conservation

****:LAND SNAILS

If you are looking for a hobby in a field that is not overcrowded -- one 
that you can pursue both indoors and out-of-doors whenever the spirit 
moves you; one that uses only simple inexpensive equipment and 
requires no special skill or training to get started -- may we suggest 
Land Snails. Either as a pastime or as a serious problem in scientific 
research, their collection and study has a long and honorable tradition. 
Even an amateur has a chance to discover something new and 
original.

Land snails may be found almost anywhere, occasionally in dry places, 
but a damp woodland is perhaps their favorite habitat Different kinds 
abound in Illinois from the highest hills to the deepest valleys and, 
curiously enough, with the advance of civilization many of the prairie 
species have taken refuge along railroad embankments. As many as 15 
kinds, ranging from pinhead size to an inch or more across, may be 
found in and around a single rotting log. Other likely spots are under 
boards, rocks and fallen leaves, or in old brush piles. They may be 
found crawling over vegetation or tree trunks. A good collector looks 
everywhere. The best times are after rainy periods in spring or summer 
but snails also can be found in winter under the debris of a forest floor 
or, by a little patient digging, around stumps. Even their empty shells 
can help fill out your collection.

Now, suppose you turn over a rotten old log and see what is 
underneath. Beetles, spiders, bugs, centipedes and salamanders all 
scamper into hiding. Earthworms jerk their heads back into burrows 
but a few animals, like insect larvae, do not run away. Neither do the 
snails with their spiral shells, nor the slugs which are really snails 
with only a flake of shell imbedded in the soft flesh. Tear off a piece of 
loose bark and on the inner side you may find snail shells of several 
different sizes, shapes and colors -- round or long, ridged or smooth, 
opaque or transparent, black or yellow, and some with stripes, spots or 
zigzag markings. All you need to take care of your catch are a few 
wide-mouthed bottles and vials, a can, and a pair of tweezers to handle 
the tiny ones. Then, please, turn the log back again so it may produce 
a new crop.

Next you naturally ask, "What species have I got?" Fortunately, there 
is a pocket-size manual entitled, "Fieldbook of Illinois Land Snails", 
written by Frank Collins Baker after a lifelong study of them published 
by the Illinois Natural History Survey at Urbana. In this little book, 
each of the 122 species and races found in Illinois is pictured and 
briefly described. A simple key makes it possible to identify your snails 
without poring through the entire book. A well-written introduction 
explains -- better than we could here -- the anatomy, life history and 
habits of land snails: how they spend winters and survive droughts, on 
what they feed, and where they lay their eggs. Simple directions tell 
how to clean and label the shells; how to keep notes and care for your 
growing collection.

Many eminent scientists have studied Illinois land snails. Chief among 
them was Thomas Say of New Harmony, Indiana, more than a century 
ago, who described and gave names to over 30 species. Large 
collections are preserved in museums where specialists and amateurs 
go to compare notes. Many Illinois naturalists, no longer living, left 
interesting accounts of this snail hobby but new recruits are needed to 
fill their shoes.

So, if you decide to be a Conchologist, good hunting!