SnailBlitz 2022

Threeband Slug on red flower
Threeband Slug, photo by Maiz Connolly

SnailBlitz 2022 is happening now, and we need you to keep your "eyes out" for snails and slugs.

Between February 1 and March 31, 2022, please share your photographs of all Southern California wild land snails and slugs. Help us to learn more about the biodiversity of Southern California and reach our goal of 1,500 observations by the end of SnailBlitz 2022!

Follow us on Instagram @natureinla for some fun new snail content every Tuesday and Thursday between now and the end of March.

One of NHM's community science projects, SLIME (Snails and Slugs Living in Metropolitan Environments), is the first to catalogue the biodiversity of terrestrial gastropods (land snails and slugs) in Los Angeles County and throughout Southern California. SnailBlitz 2022 supports the SLIME project.

How to Participate in SnailBlitz 2022

Take a photo of any Southern California snail or slug between February 1 and March 31, 2022. Then share your photo with NHM in one of three ways.

  • Upload your photo to iNaturalist, and it will automatically be included in SnailBlitz 2022. Identify it as “Common Land Snails and Slugs” or “Stylommatophora” if you are not sure which species you have observed. You can also join the SnailBlitz 2022 project on iNaturalist to follow along and receive updates.

  • E-mail your photo to slime@nhm.org and include the date and location (address or intersection) where you made the observation for each photo.

  • You may also post snail and slug photos to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook using #SnailBlitz2022, and we can add them to the project for you.

See Current Stats

 

SnailBlitz 2022 Photo Contest

snail on branch
Jann Vendetti

Will your snail or slug photo be a winner? Every eligible* observation you submit will automatically get entered into our #SnailBlitz2022 photo contest. Winners will be announced in April.

Contest categories include:

  • Grand Prize Winner
  • Best Snail Photo
  • Best Slug Photo
  • Rarest Snail/Slug Photo

*To be eligible for the photo contest, the photo must meet the following criteria:

  • Photo of a wild, land snail or slug (not marine or freshwater); no pet snail or slug photos.
  • Taken in Southern California (within one of these counties: San Luis Obispo, Kern, San Bernardino Counties, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, or Imperial).
  • Taken between February 1 and March 31, 2022 (winners will be announced in April)

Terms and Conditions

  • Museum employees (full and part-time) are not eligible to receive prizes.

Up for an Extra Challenge?

Use this downloadable Bingo card to see if you can make enough observations to get 5 in a row or fill your card. Share this link with friends and teachers.

Although you need to be in Southern California to have your observations included in SnailBlitz 2022, anyone anywhere there are snails can play Snail Bingo!

SnailBlitz 2022 bingo card

Contact Us

General Inquiries
slime@nhm.org

Jann Vendetti
Twila Bratcher Chair in Malacological Research
jvendett@nhm.org