juanKaphotos: July 2010

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Liguus fasciatus mating in their natural habitat.

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Courtship and mating occur in the late summer or early fall. Three to four weeks later, the female burrows up to the length of her shell into the leaf litter of the hammock floor and lays up to 50 elliptical, pea-sized eggs. The young snails, called buttons, hatch at the beginning of the rainy season. Adults also emerge from aestivation at this time and the cycle begins anew.
fl.biology.usgs.gov/sofla/Tree_Snail/General_Biology/Life_History/life_history.html

Liguus fasciatus Mating from Juan C Aguero on Vimeo.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY Juan C Aguero. All rights reserved.
Hammock 38-Pilsbry

Liguus fasciatus forma Versicolor

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Photographing Treesnails, Liguus fasciatus

Liguus fasciatus mating

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Expo Virtual, Florida Treesnail, Liguus fasciatus

Florida Treesnail, Liguus fasciatus from Juan C Aguero on Vimeo.

Florida tree snails are listed by the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission as a "Species of Special Concern". This category indicates that they warrant special attention because of their restricted range and their vulnerability to exploitation or environmental changes.

fl.biology.usgs.gov/sofla/Tree_Snail/General_Biology/Protection/protection.html

Location: Everglades National Park.
2009-2010
Photographer: Juan C Aguero

Gorgeous and multicolored inhabitants of tropical hardwood hammocks, tree snails, of the genus Liguus, are known as "living jewels." They are two to three inches long, and are found only in extreme southern Florida and the Florida Keys. Fifty-two native color varieties exist, ranging from white to almost black, wrapped in whorls of emerald green, chestnut, orange, yellow or pink.

Tree snails feed on algae and fungus scraped from smooth-barked trees, such as wild tamarind, pigeon plum, myrsine and bustic. They slide along the bark on a thin layer of mucus secreted from their large foot. Although found throughout the year, they are most active during the rainy season, from May through September, especially after a heavy rain.

During the dry season, they go into a kind of hibernation called estivation, fastening themselves to a branch and sealing their shells with mucus to prevent drying out. Rainwater softens this seal and out they come. If they are ripped from a branch during dry season, they will dry out and die.

Tree snails mate during the late summer rains, and lay pea-sized pearlescent eggs in nests at the base of trees. The eggs remain in the nest until the following rainy season when the baby snails, known as "buttons," emerge and crawl up the tree.
The tree snail is listed as a species of special concern in Florida. They are threatened by illegal collection of their shells, pesticide spraying and destruction of habitat. If you come across these delicate jewels of the hammock, please do not disturb them.

Sources:
http://myfwc.com/viewing/species/treesnail.htm
Tree Snails Gems of the Everglades (National Geographic Magazine March, 1965)