Andrew Vik
[log in to unmask]

Dear Aydin:

In my trade as a Roof Repairman, I am often amazed at how many different living
things can be found on the harsh rooftop environment. Plants that I have found
include grasses and freshwater sedges, numerous weeds and the saplings of palm
and hardwood trees.
In some more or less permanent puddling areas I have seen frogs, tadpoles and
small fish.
Many insects, arachnids, and lizards live out their entire lives on the roof.
Leaf filled gutters also contain very healthy looking earthworms.
As for molluscs, I have found at least four different species of pulmonates
while at work.
One species, Drymaeus multilineatus, is arboreal and probably fell out of
overhanging trees. The other three were ground dwellers (Polygyra cereolus,
Bradybaena similis, and Subulina octona). I have found the first two species
very high up on walls during wet weather, but I have never seen Subulina climb
anything very high. Perhaps these small snails are so light that a good wind
storm could deposit egg bearing adults on top of a building.

Yours, Andrew

Orstan, Aydin wrote:

> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: G Thomas Watters [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2000 07:54
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Cocliocopa lubrica
>
> > I was once forwarded a jar of hundreds of Cochlicopa lubrica
> > from a man who
> > said there were millions of them in the wet leaves in the
> > rain gutters of
> > his house.
>
> That's interesting. How & why did they get up to his roof? I suppose
> hatchlings are small enough to be wind blown.
>
> Aydin