NEWS105
9
CurrentNews
Witheffect from8thNovember 2012 therehasbeenabanonapple snailsof
thegenus
Pomacea
in theEU.
Pomacea
is thevalidgenusname for theapple
snailsformerlyknownasAmpullaria.Asaresultofthisbanthe importation,sale,
ownership,andbreedingofapplesnailsofall speciesof thegenusPomacea is
forbiddenwithin theEU.Thisappliesequally tocommercialorganizationsand
private individuals. The original text of the order can be seen at
17:DE:PDF
Import, trade,maintenance,andbreedingbanon
AppleSnails in theEU
byFrankSchäfer
White cultivated formof theapple snail
Pomaceadiffusa
All photos:FrankSchäfer
hebackground to theban
In August 2009 feral apple snails were
discovered for the first time inSpain,more
precisely in the left-handpart of the Ebro
Delta. Since then the species has spread
dramatically in the affected area and
become a serious pest in the rice fields.
T
The apple snail species in question is
Pomacea insularum
, a member of the so-
called
Pomaceacaniculata
complex.Apple
snail species can be told apart only with
great difficulty and only by specialists.
They are very adaptable and variable, so
that different species can look practically
identical. At present only DNA analysis
permits definite identification of the
species and that only became possible
recently. Because several species of apple
snails – not only the
P.
insularum
established in theEbroDeltabut certainly
the closely related
P. caniculata
as well –
can survive temperatures down to just
above freezing point without problem as
