snails : NPR

Florida officials plan to eradicate giant African land snails, again

Scientist Mary Yong Cong holds one of the Giant African Snails she keeps in her lab in Miami, on July 17, 2015 Kerry Sheridan/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Kerry Sheridan/AFP via Getty Images

Florida officials plan to eradicate giant African land snails, again

July 2, 2022 • Back in 2018, the Florida agriculture commissioner described these types of snails as a "triple threat" because of the potential harm to human health, the environment and agriculture.

George, Reclusive Hawaiian Snail And Last Of His Kind, Dies At 14

George, the last known Achatinella apexfulva, a Hawaiian land snail, died on New Year's Day. David Sischo/Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources hide caption

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David Sischo/Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources

George, Reclusive Hawaiian Snail And Last Of His Kind, Dies At 14

January 7, 2019 • While he was but one very lonely Achatinella apexfulva, his death takes place amid a crisis for Hawaii's native snails, whose populations have been decimated by invasive species.

Mon Dieu! Burgundy Snails Aren't French Anymore

Cooked Burgundy snails in garlic butter. These snails are a popular French delicacy. These days they are imported into France from other European countries. tirc83/Getty Images hide caption

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tirc83/Getty Images

Mon Dieu! Burgundy Snails Aren't French Anymore

July 27, 2017 • Declining snail populations in France have led to imports of Burgundy snails from European countries. Consumers love them, but not French snail farmers, who want people to eat locally raised snails.

Can't Hurry Love: Rare Snail Finds Romance After Global Search

Rare snail Jeremy (left) meets a potential mate named Lefty. Angus Davison hide caption

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Angus Davison

Can't Hurry Love: Rare Snail Finds Romance After Global Search

November 10, 2016 • A genetic fluke stood in the way of love for a lonely and unique snail named Jeremy. But thanks to a public appeal, the snail has hopefully found a mate — or maybe even two.

For This Vineyard, It's Duck, Duck, Booze

Indian runner ducks have been used in Asia for thousands of years to control pests. Now they're used in a South African vineyard to eat snails that damage the vines. Sarah Birnbaum for NPR hide caption

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Sarah Birnbaum for NPR

Parallels

For This Vineyard, It's Duck, Duck, Booze

May 7, 2016 • You've heard about the running of the bulls — how about the running of the birds? Each morning, hundreds of ducks are released to patrol a Cape Town vineyard.

For This Vineyard, It's Duck, Duck, Booze

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WATCH: Incredible Tiny Snail Beats Its Watery Wings And 'Flies'

A sea butterfly at different stages of a wing beat. David Murphy/Journal of Experimental Biology hide caption

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David Murphy/Journal of Experimental Biology

The Two-Way

WATCH: Incredible Tiny Snail Beats Its Watery Wings And 'Flies'

February 18, 2016 • Scientists say Limacina helicina, which moves much like a fruit fly, represents a "remarkable" evolutionary convergence. Its ancestors and those of flying insects diverged some 550 million years ago.

Florida's Hunt For Giant Snails Leads To 'Smelly Easter Eggs'

Giant African land snails, like this one found in Florida in 2011, eat almost any plant. Florida officials are determined to eradicate the invasive pest. Andrew Derksen/Florida Department of Agriculture/Reuters/Landov hide caption

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Andrew Derksen/Florida Department of Agriculture/Reuters/Landov

Animals

Florida's Hunt For Giant Snails Leads To 'Smelly Easter Eggs'

November 20, 2014 • The state has so far spent $6 million trying to eradicate the giant African land snail, an invasive species that devours gardens, carries disease and leaves behind a trail of foul-smelling mucus.

Florida's Hunt For Giant Snails Leads To 'Smelly Easter Eggs'

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Save The Escargot! Snail-Devouring Predator Rears Its Head In France

A specimen of Platydemus manokwari collected in a greenhouse at Caen in Normandy. You can see its white pharynx protruding from the underside, ingesting soft tissues of a specimen of the Mediterranean snail. Pierre Gros/PeerJ hide caption

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Pierre Gros/PeerJ

The Salt

Save The Escargot! Snail-Devouring Predator Rears Its Head In France

March 11, 2014 • The New Guinea flatworm is a vicious little thing with an appetite for snails. Its discovery in Normandy has raised concerns about the fate of Europe's snails — and France's famed mollusk appetizer.

The face of true love? iStockphoto hide caption

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iStockphoto

Opinion

Can Love Be Measured?

February 15, 2014 • A boy plays with a dog. A snail snuggles up in its home. What is love? Commentator Alva Noë says it's an irreducible idea that finds expression in all sorts of unexpected places.