I moved to Stockholm, Sweden a few months ago from Canada. I went from one of the sunniest cities in the world (yes, we have sun in Canada) to one where it rains, a lot. I was struggling with the cloudy weather until I noticed some pretty amazing creatures would come out in the rain. I started taking pictures and now look forward to the rainy days.

I post twice weekly snail pictures on my instagram, aptly named @snailsofsweden. I name each snail and give an interesting snail fact to teach people about the largely overlooked garden snail.

While many people see these little guys as pests, I think there’s something really beautiful in their slow movement and colourful, spiral shells. I think we can learn a lot by slowing down to appreciate the everyday, little things in life. And so I would like to introduce you to the humble garden snails of Sweden.

More info: Instagram

The Candycane (Snail fact: Snail shells get harder as the snail gets older, but if they don’t get enough calcium, their shell gets brittle and cracks.)

The Jungle Explorer (Snail Fact: Snails live in almost all habitats – from deep sea trenches to desserts.)

The Acrobat (Snail Fact: Snails move using a “muscular foot” through wave-like movements.)

The Chameleon (Snail Fact: A snail’s shell colour helps it hide. Scientists believe one reason snails come in different colours is so predators don’t get used to looking for just one type of snail.)

The Commuter (Snail Fact: The average garden snail moves 1mm/s. It would take 12 days for this snail to move 1km.)

The Daisy (Snail Fact: Snail pollination is called malacophily. It happens very rarely, but some plants are only pollinated by snails.)

Romeo and Juliet (Snail Fact: Snail courtship takes 2 to 12 hours. They find each other with smell and touch, since they can’t see very well.)

The Rosé (Snail Fact: Snails breathe using one lung or gills depending on their habitat. Some land snails also have gills and some underwater snails have lungs.)

The Spotlight (Snail Fact: If you move a snail 20 meters from your garden, it will not return.)

The Midsummer Swirl (Snail Fact: Snails eat living, dying and decomposing organic matter. They can be herbivores, omnivores or carnivores.)

The Gang (Snail Fact: Snails like to hang out in groups. You’ll usually find them eating on the same plant.)

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