Too dry

This morning Mrs. K. went with a small group of naturalists to search for Britain’s smallest snail. I tagged along.

The snail is Vertigo angustior, the Narrow mouthed whorl snail. It is a minute land snail. The shell measures 1.8mm. In height and 1mm. In width. It is on the list of endangered species in the British Isles. It is found by collecting damp moss and looking at it through a microscope.

It likes damp conditions and unfortunately the moss was too dry today so the snails were probably hiding in rock crevices waiting for rain.

The group did, however, find some interesting plants. The one I have blipped is Angular Solomon’s seal ( Polyganatum odoratum ). This was a good find as we are probably near its northern limit in the UK.