Dear Phil,

how was your trip to Poland? I have a lot of Cepaeas (nemoralis,
vindobonensis, hortensis) from various localities. I have also some from old
collections. The coloration is okay, not like fresh collectet ones. If you put
some oíl on the shell and store them without light, this is the best way to
keep the colour.
I have Cepaeas collected years ago and the colour is right. On my web-
page: http://ipp.boku.ac.at/private/wf/Cepaea%20hortensis.html There are
collected on the shore of a stream.
yopu can see hortensis collected about 15 years ago. The colour did not
change.
nemoralis is more colourful than hortensis. Many of the live hortensis are
not shiny (only when the are wet).
Cepaea are polymorph. There are about 89 different variations. You find
more variability near rivers. Other moprhes where washed ashore, this
make enable the exchange of their genes.
five banded snails lays more eggs than others, yelow ones tolerate more
heat (dry areas) better than dark ones.
The red (rosa) ones (hortensis) are rare forms. The yellow one is vey
common also the stripped ones.

Look also for the variation in vindobonensis
http://ipp.boku.ac.at/private/wf/Cepaea_vindobonensis.html
This all live collected specimens from a  limestone area in Sopron,
Hungary.


If anybody is interested in exchange land snails please contact me.

best regards

Wolfgang
Wolfgang Fischer
Institut fuer Pflanzenbau u. Pflanzenzuechtung (IPP)
Universitaet fuer Bodenkultur
Gregor Mendel Str. 33
1180 Wien
AUSTRIA

http://ipp.boku.ac.at/private/wf/index.html
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