Land snails spend most of their time in the leaf litter layer (this is the naturally occurring layer of organic matter on top of the soil; AKA Mother Nature’s mulch). There, they consume the dead and decaying vegetation, helping to decompose it. The nutrient-rich faeces they leave behind, play a role in soil formation. As environmental clean-up crews, snails’ nutrient-cycling activity extends also to fungi, and some species even specialise as consumers of dead animals. From insects to mammals, snails rasp away at soft tissues, leaving exoskeletons and bones clean, all the while enriching the soil with their droppings.

 

Snails are also known to play a role as pollinators. Just like bees and insects, the sweet nectar of flowers lures them in. As they visit each blossom, pollen grains stick to their bodies and shells and are transported to the next bloom, delivering pollen that can lead to the plant’s reproduction. Remarkably, they do their pollination services when most insect pollinators are inactive, that is, during the nights and rainy days- snails are nocturnal and LOVE rainy days.

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After a snail has died, its shell persists for some time in the environment, and provides a handy shelter for various species of creepy crawlies, referred to in this case as “snail shell adopters”. Some insects use the shell as a winter retreat. Others use it as housing for their larval and pupal stages. Mason bees (Megachilidae) are solitary bees that sometimes lay their eggs in snail shells. After laying a single egg inside, the female bee constructs a mud, pebble, and plant-material barrier to seal the opening. The shell plus its bee-made door offers a perfect little nook to protect the egg as it develops, and eventually emerges as an adult.

 

All critters play an indispensable role in sustaining nature, and snails serve a key part of a biological process. Climate change, loss of habitat and harvesting snails from the wild for food, are major threats to land snails.