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Sticker of Asian tramp snail
Bug card No. 0188 of 4,939

Asian tramp snail

Bradybaena similaris
Eats: PlantsSnails, slugs and wormsGardens and meadowsNo legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The Asian tramp snail is a small land snail with a light brown shell, often with one chestnut stripe. It is a great traveller. It hitches rides on shipping containers and has reached many places around the world this way.

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
First from Southeast Asia, now also in the southern United States, eastern Australia and many islands
Length
1.2 to 1.6 cm (0.47 to 0.63 in)
the width of the shell
Top speed
about 0.02 km/h (0.01 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. Wash your hands after holding one, like after touching any wild animal.
What does it eat?
It eats living plants, like vegetables, garden greens and citrus trees. It has also been seen eating a fungus that grows on coffee plants.
For real!Photo of Asian tramp snail
Picture by Luan Faitanin Volpato. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Asian tramp snail about 1.6 cm long (0.63 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
as long as 2.5 grains of rice in a rowneeds 3 minutes to cross a dinner table

How big is Asian tramp snail compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Because it travels on freight containers, it may be one of the most widespread land snails in the world.

2

It comes out and gets busy after it rains.

3

Its eggs hatch after 2 to 4 weeks, and it can live for 2 to 3 years.

4

Farmers see it as a pest, because it nibbles on crops and garden plants.

you asked

Most asked questions about Asian tramp snail

?Why is it called a tramp snail?

Because it travels the world as a stowaway on freight containers, like a wanderer.

?Is the Asian tramp snail a pest?

Yes, it eats vegetables and other crops, so farmers and gardeners do not like it.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Bradybaena similaris
Group
Snails, slugs and worms
Family
Camaenidae
Classification
Gastropoda > Stylommatophora > Camaenidae
Lives on
Asia, North America, Australia and Oceania, Africa
Also known as
Asian trampsnail

Where the facts come from

  1. Bradybaena similaris (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 Luan Faitanin Volpato. 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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