
Given their small size - and their association with pots, nurseries and greenhouses - it is not surprising that several European Glass Snail species have been inadvertently introduced in temperate or subtropical regions around the world, including New Zealand, Australia and the U.S. and Canada. What perhaps is unexpected is that many Glass Snails, including O. draparnaudi are predators and their diet include other snails and slugs and their eggs, in addition to worms, and dead insects. They have even been reported to eat Garden Snails. When predating on snails, they attack the snail's body first with their radula and when they cannot access more flesh from the outside, they drill a hole on the shell to finish off their meal. The introduced populations, however, can be a threat for the native snail fauna and reductions or losses of local snail populations have been reported in areas with these predatory snails when compared with patches where they were absent in the U.S and New Zealand.
References
Barker, G.M. (2004). Natural enemies of terrestrial molluscs. CABI. DOI: 10.1079/9780851993195.0279. Here.
Karin Mahlfeld, Karin. Impact of introduced gastropods on molluscan communities, northern North Island. here.
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