March 31, 1947: Campaign launched to save colorful tree snails
You've probably heard about the current war on invasive Giant African Land Snails in Miami-Dade County. Those grow as big as rats and can devour your home's stucco and plaster. Those are bad snails. But South Florida is also home to good snails. The brightly hued Liguus, also known as Florida tree snails, once lived in an area extending from Key West north to Boca Raton. Now they are mostly found in Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, and parts of the Keys. Fifty-eight color varieties have been observed but several are now extinct and others are very rare. Their varied colors and patterns create the appearance of Easter eggs. Blacks, whites, greens, browns, blues and yellows can appear as stripes, flames and washes. Hobbyists collected them obsessively in South Florida in the late 19th and early 20th century. In 1947, the state parks service launched a campaign to protect them, a story in the Miami Daily News reported. Parks Service Director L.G. Scoggin said some collectors were so fanatical they would find a colony of uniquely marked specimens, select a few for their own collections, and then burn the woods around the colony to establish the collected ones as rarities. By and large, collectors voiced support for the protection campaign. Between 1957 and 1980, collectors worked with the National Park Service to introduce 51 color varieties into Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve, but several of those have disappeared, according to the United States Geological Service's Southeast Ecological Science Center website. Florida tree snails are today listed by the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission as a Species of Special Concern. Collecting is no longer allowed on public or private lands in South Florida. Read the story in the Miami Daily News: Florida Moves to Protect Its Tree-Climbing Snails • Read about Florida tree snails at the USGS website