Monacha cantiana, Kentish Snail

Common Name: Kentish Snail

Monacha cantiana, or the Kentish Snail, is usually found in herbal layers of hedges, waste ground, shrublands, at roadsides and railways, also in dunes, not in woods, preferring well-drained calcareous soils.

Juveniles are often attached high up on the vegetation for long periods. 60-90 eggs are laid between June and September. Juveniles hatch after 2 weeks and reach maturity after 1 year.

Introduced to Great Britain with farmers in late Roman times and spread mainly in the mediaeval period, occupying a compact area covering S and E England, and still continues spreading (isolated sites in Wales, W central England and Scotland). Attempts to introduce the species to Ireland have been unsuccessful.

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