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Sticker of Costate vallonia
Bug card No. 1209 of 4,939

Costate vallonia

Vallonia costata
Eats: PlantsSnails, slugs and wormsGardens and meadowsNo legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The costate vallonia is a tiny land snail, smaller than a grain of rice. Its flat shell is ivory-white and has neat ribs spaced out across it. It breathes air, just like the garden snail.

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
Europe, Canada and the United States
Length
2.2 to 2.7 mm (0.09 to 0.11 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. It is a tiny snail. Wash your hands after touching snails.
What does it eat?
Like other little land snails, it eats tiny bits of plants.
For real!Photo of Costate vallonia
Picture by Nefronus. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Costate vallonia about 2.7 mm long (0.11 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)
2 of them in a row are as long as one grain of riceneeds 6 minutes to cross a dinner table

How big is Costate vallonia 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 has just over three turns, with deep grooves between them.

2

Between the big ribs there are even tinier lines.

3

The opening of the shell is almost round, and grown-up snails have a thick lip that curls outwards.

4

It lives in many countries in Europe and also in Canada and the United States.

you asked

Most asked questions about Costate vallonia

?How big is the costate vallonia?

Its shell is only 2.2 to 2.7 millimetres wide, smaller than a grain of rice.

?Is the costate vallonia dangerous?

No. It is a tiny, harmless snail.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Vallonia costata
Named by
O. F. Müller, 1774
Group
Snails, slugs and worms
Family
Valloniidae
Classification
Gastropoda > Stylommatophora > Valloniidae
Lives on
Europe, North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Vallonia costata (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 Nefronus. CC BY-SA 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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