Bug Wiki
Sticker of Lesser bulin
Bug card No. 2579 of 4,939

Lesser bulin

Merdigera obscura
Eats: PlantsSnails, slugs and wormsForests and woodsNo legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The lesser bulin is a small land snail with a tall, pointy brown shell. Its shell is only about as tall as your fingernail is wide. It crawls along holding its shell up very high, like a little tower on its back.

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
Most of Europe and north west Africa, in shady woods
Length
3 to 4 mm (0.12 to 0.16 in)
the width of the shell
Top speed
about 0.01 km/h (0.01 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Wash your hands after holding one, like after touching any wild animal.
What does it eat?
Like most land snails, it scrapes up bits of plants with its rough tongue.
For real!Photo of Lesser bulin
Picture by Michal Maňas. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Lesser bulin about 4 mm long (0.16 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)
small enough to sit on your fingernailneeds 6 minutes to cross a dinner table

How big is Lesser bulin compared to YOU?

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

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its shell is about 1 centimetre tall and has six turns, like a spiral staircase.

2

It is often hidden by camouflage, so it is very hard to spot.

3

A mother snail lays 12 to 20 small oval eggs, and the babies hatch after about two weeks.

4

Look for it on tree trunks, on walls, and under stones and fallen leaves.

you asked

Most asked questions about Lesser bulin

?Where does the lesser bulin live?

In shady, rocky woods in most of Europe and in north west Africa, on tree trunks, walls and under stones.

?How big is the lesser bulin?

Its shell is about 1 centimetre tall and only 3 to 4 millimetres wide.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Merdigera obscura
Group
Snails, slugs and worms
Family
Enidae
Classification
Gastropoda > Stylommatophora > Enidae
Lives on
Europe, Africa

Where the facts come from

  1. Merdigera obscura (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 Michal Maňas. CC BY 4.0, 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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More from the same group: Snails, slugs and worms

Also at home here: Forests and woods

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