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Sticker of Roman snail
Bug card No. 3656 of 4,939

Roman snail

Helix pomatia
Eats: PlantsSnails, slugs and wormsForests and woodsNo legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The Roman snail is a big land snail with a round, creamy brown shell. It is one of the largest snails in Europe. It moves slowly through woods and bushes and can live for many, many years.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect at all, it has no legs! But kids find it on every bug hunt, so it lives in Bug Wiki too.
Lives in
Central and eastern Europe, and introduced to other places like England and North America, in woods, bushes and grassy wasteland
Length
3 to 5 cm (1.2 to 2 in)
the width of the shell
Top speed
about 0.03 km/h (0.02 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Wash your hands after holding one. In some countries it is protected, so it is best to just look.
What does it eat?
It eats plants. Young Roman snails especially like stinging nettles.
For real!Photo of Roman snail
Picture by Waugsberg. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Roman snail about 5 cm long (2 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 8 grains of rice in a rowas long as 1.5 toy building bricks in a rowneeds 2 minutes to cross a dinner table

How big is Roman snail compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It can live up to 20 years, and a few have reached 35.

2

In winter or in very dry weather, it closes its shell with a chalky lid to stay safe.

3

A snail lays a clutch of 40 to 65 eggs in the soil, and the babies hatch after three to four weeks.

4

It takes two to five years to grow up.

5

In England it is protected by law, so nobody may collect or sell them there.

you asked

Most asked questions about Roman snail

?How long does a Roman snail live?

Often around ten years, up to 20 years, and the oldest known reached 35.

?How big is a Roman snail?

Its shell is about 3 to 5 centimetres wide.

?What do Roman snails eat?

Plants. The young ones are especially fond of stinging nettles.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Helix pomatia
Group
Snails, slugs and worms
Family
Helicidae
Classification
Gastropoda > Stylommatophora > Helicidae
Lives on
Europe, Asia, North America
Also known as
Burgundy snail, Escargot

Where the facts come from

  1. Helix pomatia (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Waugsberg. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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