Rosey Wolf Snail
When most people think of snails they think of sluggish little escargo. They don't usually envision a snail that eats other snails ... snails nearly as big as him! In Hawaii we have that kind of snail. Its an introduced menance called Euglandina rosea, the Rosey Wolf Snail. Watch the video we took of it devouring an African Snail.

Wolf Snail Facts:

Invasion Date:

Where it came from: Florida

Predatory Habits in Hawaii: This snail was introduced to Hawai'i to get rid of the invasive African snails that were becoming so abundant they were becoming road hazards and garden pests. When the wolf snails came to the islands, they did a decent job controling the african snails. However, wolf snails can only prey on African snails that are smaller than themselves. Since an African snail can reach a breeding size of nearly twice that of the Wolf Snail, African snails, still remained fairly abundant. Soon, the wolf snail began invading the forests, at which time its diet shifted to our native tree snails. To a wolf snail, a small tree snail might not look much different and is surely as appetizing.

The Future: Today, there is a dire need to examine the predatory habits of these snails so that control measures can be implemented to slow the predation on native snails. Hawaii has had nearly 750 native land snails. Now, more than half of them are extinct, with more nearing extinction every day. The University of Hawaii and researches in the Zoology department have implemented studies to examine the wolf snails. Soon with more knowledge, we may be able to impede the destruction of these snails on our native fauna.

Links to more Information:

text: Rob Nelson