Bulimulus bonariensis is an invasive species of snail native to the region of South American. This snail was first reported in Florida in 2009, rapidly spreading across the southeastern United States. These snails threaten a variety of crops by lowering the quality of harvests and disrupting the health of establishing crops. For some crops, the snails are similar in shape and size to the produce which allows them to surpass sorting grates and contaminate yield. Additionally, the snails heavily aggregate near moisture causing blocked irrigation lines. In other cases, the snails directly harm plants by consuming plant tissues. To develop a management plan, we aim to investigate the efficacy of native predatory snails and other natural enemies found in row crops. Our first objective is to investigate native Euglandina rosea to determine its potential to consume and control pest populations of B. bonariensis. Research with E. rosea will include daily diet of adult snails and rearing data collected on hatchlings fed with B. bonariensis snails to determine the rate of hatchling success and consumption. Our second objective implemented predatory exclusion cages in a peanut field baited with frozen B. bonariensis eggs. This investigation allowed us to identify both crawling and flying predators that may naturally predate on B. bonariensis snails in the field. Additionally, we employed 20 pit fall traps baited with frozen B. bonariensis adult snails in peanut and cotton fields to capture and investigate the consumption rate of these pest snails in the lab setting.
.png)
