Strange Caterpillar Devours Snails

[On the Road]

July 22, 2005 — A bizarre caterpillar has been caught red-handed in Hawaii using its silk in a spiderly fashion to ambush and devour snails. The shells are then left hanging around.

Flesh-eating caterpillars are extremely rare, and always prefer to eat other insects — never snails, which are mollusks.

"It's kind of like finding a wolf that is diving for clams," said entomologist Daniel Rubinoff of the University of Hawaii.

--snip

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20050718/caterpillar.html

[Lautremont]

1. I was innocently enjoying this story when I got to the part where

it began talking about how this is 'a great example of evolution.' I didn't realize such filthy heretical talk was still allowed. And these things always seem to come from so-called "Pacific Islands!" I think these islands should be outlawed, as they clearly weave some ungodly sorcery on the "scientists" who study there.

(Sorry - just anticipating the reactions from the right.)

[SteppingRazor]

2. As a very scientific-minded soul, my reaction to this amazing story is...

EEEWWWWWWWWWW!!!!! :puke:

[Ian David]

3. Maybe this could solve the problem of the California Brown Snails?

common name: brown garden snail
scientific name: Helix aspersa Müller (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Helicidae)

The brown garden snail (European brown snail) Helix (Cyptoomphalus) aspersa Müller, was described by O.F. Müller in 1774 from specimens collected in Italy. This plant feeder has been disseminated into many parts of the world intentionally as a food delicacy, accidentally by the movement of plants, and by hobbyists who collect snails. It was introduced to California in the 1850s as a source of escargot. It has adapted well to California and is very troublesome as a pest of crops and ornamentals (Capinera 2001).

More:
http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/gastro/brown_garden_snail.htm

Also:

Culinary pest management - eating garden pests and weeds

<snip>

One prime pest, however, is also prime table fodder. Every California gardener knows the story: how a French emigrant to the West Coast introduced European brown snails from his native land, thinking to raise them for the table; how the domestic snails escaped, went feral, and invaded gardens up and down the state and as far away as Washington and Texas.

The two snails most commonly found at the end of a fork are Helix pomatia and Helix aspersa. The latter, also known as the common brown snail, is the one you're most likely to encounter in North American gardens.

Collecting a sufficient number of gastropods should not be a problem for most gardeners living in snail territory. Night or early morning are the best times to capture them. Back in Brittany, my grandmother found the local graveyard to be the best gathering spot--the snails seemed to favor the cold stones of the tombs.

Because not everyone has given up on pesticides, and since snails are not notoriously discriminating eaters, you'll have to clean your catch before you can savor it in safety. At least three days in a lidded wooden box with well-ventilated top and sides should do it. Put in some cornmeal and lettuce for the snails to eat, and some water in a small plate. Change the water every day. Be sure to keep the cage clean and the food fresh; remove any dead snails. Starve them for two more days before you plan to cook them so that they'll purge themselves. Blanch them in boiling water for three minutes, cool, wash with vinegar, cook another 30 minutes, and they're ready to use in any number of recipes. Snails are best, in my opinion, drenched with scarcely credible amounts of garlic and butter--what the French call beurre d'escargot.

More:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1525/is_n6_v79/ai_15929283

[SteppingRazor]

4. See, my problem with that is...

I would find it impossible to eat anything I had taken care of for the last several days :blush: