What the hell were you thinking?

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Snail shells aloe 5.jpg

Every time I see a snail shell stuck to a plant, fence, electric pole I wonder what the hell were you thinking?

It is some weird force that makes them do it. I even saw them crawling up on a wooden pole (damn so many Poles everywhere :p) to join his buddies in a, what seemed to me, a group sleep.

But after a while those shells seem empty. I am not even sure if any of them survive. Just imagine being stuck to the top of a leaf right before the summer. And the summer here is no joke. Many hours of full expose definitely cooks whatever is inside.

Snail shells aloe 1.jpgSnail shells aloe 9.jpg

Snail shells aloe 3.jpg

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But don't think there was just one or two.
Oh no.
There was more of them...
Hundreds of shells attached the the aloe leaves or stuck between them.
And even more under the plant.

Snail shells aloe 7.jpg

Looks pretty cool for shooting purposes, right?
The poor aloe looked quite miserable too. Planted in a very open spot and neglected with no water. The leaves changed colour to red due to stress (hot and no water) and some dried up completely.

Snail shells aloe 6.jpgSnail shells aloe 8.jpg

A snail cemetery...

Snail shells aloe 2.jpg

»«
Shot with Nikon D5500 + Sigma 105mm lens
All photos and text are my own.



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29 comments
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Are they all hybernating? Or just dead? My Aquarium snails sometimes crawl out and dry up in random places in the house. I'll have to start putting some happy drugs into their water.

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Oh, when we had aquarium, our snails were doing the same! Of course, close to the aquarium, not all around the house...

Indeed, what the hell they were thinking 😅

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I wonder if they might need more algae to feed on... I even got algae pellets for them. Maybe one of those mind bending parasites got into them to compel them to go out and be eaten by a duck or bird or something. But since its just inside nothing is there to eat them.

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The few shells I checked some other time were empty. It's hard to believe that they would survive the summer there. The heat here would cook them in no time.
Silly creatures.

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Maybe its natures way of making sure the world isn't overtaken by snails.

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It's like they all just went there and killed themselves like in Bird Box lol

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It's a slow death...

I had to watch the trailer for this one. I didn't know it :) Thanks!

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I have no idea why they do that. And you say most of these are empty? Maybe they just wanted to pose for these intriguing photos.

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Some of them are. Some still had snails inside. But there is always tons of empty ones under the bushes.

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(Edited)

awesome! I really like your post and great pictures.

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We should all bow our heads in a moment of silence for the fallen snail brothers and sisters. I hope they will learn someday. Have you ever seen a snail without it's shell? Maybe it's called a slug, I sure don't know.

Their shells are a nice sight and supposedly the answer to life in set in a spiral and not the number 42 as a certain author tell us.

I'm loving all the detail!

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Hahah yea... slugs don't do that. Maybe slugs are smarter.

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Very beautiful pictures @ewkaw 📷 .. here on the nearby forest I also see many snails hanging on the very top of the vegetation .. I also always wonder how they get there, as it must be a harder task to crawl up all the way 🐌

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Thank you! They can be very persistent when they want something.. And slowly get there :)

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(Edited)

"The formation of these clusters, sometimes formed with many specimina, also called “grappes”, is a strategy land snails use to fight the high temperatures of the ground and the low levels of humidity in the summer. The snails climb up the stem of leafless plants or trunks so as to avoid dying of dehydration. They hold on to the vegetal substrate creating epiphragm, which can be created in about 10 minutes. During the summer months (up to four), snails remain dormant, reducing their metabolism and heartbeat to half."
Source

https://metode.org/metodes-whys-and-wherefores/why-do-snails-get-together-in-big-clusters-in-the-summer.html

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Thank you! It does makes sense, though still hard to believe they survive the summer heat in a full sun.
It looks pretty cool when they cover all the leaves and stems like that :)

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I see them all the time too and wondered why they do it. I searched because of your post ...and learnt something new. Thank you

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There is a mathematical problem about a snail crawling up a pillar. During the day it crawls up, and at night it slides down.
And I also thought-why is she crawling there? What was she doing there? And we need to find out - how many days will it take her to climb to the top of the pole?

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Thank you for sharing! This is educational as well. I thought they rather go under the soil, but not these ones :)

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Yea, quite a surprising thing for them to do :)

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