This morning, I spotted a sparkling shell in the sunlight. A snail! Photo time. After I took a few pictures, I moved it near a rock border, out of the way so it wouldn't get crunched underfoot. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. I later checked online, and this exotic species, Rumina decollata, isn't very nice to have in the Wildscape. According to the late John Jackman, an entomologist at Texas A&M, "This exotic snail is generally a uniform brown or tan color. The shell is about an inch long and elongate, and the tip of older snails is often broken off. It is transported in nursery stock and may accompany the brown garden snail in landscape plantings. The decollate snail is sometimes promoted as a biological control agent to feed on the brown garden snail. However, the use of Rumina decollata as a biological control agent should be considered carefully. It feeds on plants too, so it can become a plant pest even if it is beneficial as a predator on other snail pests."To kill or not to kill? I hate to kill anything (except a few things, like mosquitos and roaches in the house). So if I run into this snail again, I guess I'll toss it across the street in the vacant field....
