The statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are repeated at the end of this article
If you see patches of pink attachments in pools or farmland, beware, it's not a cranberry strawberry or something, it's the eggs of a snail, not to mention eating it, touching it may be life-threatening.
40 years ago, the snail was inadvertently brought back to China by an overseas Chinese in Argentina, and then quickly multiplied out of control.
However, its weaknesses have also been discovered, and it seems that its glorious achievements have been greatly diminished.
01
The invasion of the Fushou snail
In the spring season, as the temperature quietly rises, a seemingly ordinary but hidden crisis phenomenon is quietly staged, that is, the breeding season of Fushou snails is coming.
They originally did not belong to us, but now they are raging and multiplying in many places on the mainland, which has brought a lot of impact to the local ecology.
The originally tranquil waters of the riverside are shattered by a touch of pink, and the dense egg masses are like a strange pattern, which makes people shudder.
These egg masses are the traces left by the snails, which multiply at an alarming rate, constantly encroaching on new territories, and becoming an ecological headache.
The invasion of the Fushou snail has a history, dating back to the late 70s of the last century, when an Argentine overseas Chinese unintentionally brought this creature native to South America to Taiwan.
Rather than being welcomed by the arrival of their new environment, the creature was given a cold reception due to its poor taste, so they were abandoned in the wild and began their wild growth.
A few years later, the snail was introduced to the mainland again and was vigorously promoted in the Zhongshan region of Guangdong, where history always seems to repeat the same mistakes.
Although people tried to exploit the creature through breeding, it was eventually abandoned again because of its poor taste, and this time, they were free of human restraint and began to breed wildly in the wild.
The fertility of the snails is so strong that once they get out of control, they spread like wildfires, causing great harm to local crops.
These creatures not only wantonly invade our crops, causing serious damage to the ecological balance, but more terrifyingly, they also carry a large number of parasites, which invisibly casts a shadow on human health.
Even it almost killed people in 2006 when a Sichuan restaurant in Beijing caused a parasitic infection, which turned out to be a breeding ground for parasites, resulting in many infections.
Although the relevant departments have taken a series of measures to curb the spread of the snail, the problem is still serious, in some places, due to the lack of understanding of alien species, many people still mistake the snail for snails and eat, resulting in parasitic infections from time to time, which is not only a personal misfortune, but also a warning to the whole society.
02
Amazing amount of reproduction
According to expert statistics, a female snail can lay up to 2,400 to 8,700 young eggs every year, and the number of eggs can reach a staggering 200 to 600 per spawn.
From April to June every year, it is the peak spawning season of the snail, at this time, whether it is by the pond or on the ridge, you can see dense pink egg masses, they are like the pink mark in nature, recording the reproduction process of the snail.
These egg masses often choose to attach to plants, wooden stakes, stones, or rice stalks near the water, providing a safe and stable living environment for the life that is about to be born.
Despite their reproductive prowess, the eggs are not infallible, and in the past, rural children would inadvertently crush them while playing, or pick them up out of curiosity to observe.
And now, with the increase of fishing enthusiasts, these young eggs have become a new choice of bait, people use the young eggs of Fushou snail as bait for fishing, this method is jokingly called "new play of Fushou snail", not only provides anglers with rich bait resources, but also plays a role in reducing the number of Fushou snails to a certain extent.
Of course, people are not satisfied with this gentle way for the prevention and control of snails, and in some areas, in order to eliminate the threat of snails more completely, even extreme measures have been adopted - the use of explosives to destroy the eggs, people collect the eggs in a metal container, and then ignite and detonate.
With a loud bang, these young eggs are completely destroyed and can no longer hatch a new generation of Fushou snails, so what to do with adult Fushou snails?
03
Give it to the ducks
Listed as one of the first 16 "most harmful alien species" to invade the mainland announced by the State Environmental Protection Agency, the snail not only caused great damage to crops, but also posed a serious threat to human health due to the parasites it carried.
Fushou snails have a strong reproductive ability, and once they invade farmland, they will multiply in large quantities, consuming a lot of crop resources, resulting in reduced crop yields or even lost harvests.
Their feces will also pollute farmland water, affect the growth of crops, Fushou snail actually hides a parasite called Angiostrongylus cantonensis, once this parasite invades the human body, the consequences are unimaginable, may cause paralysis, drowsiness, coma and other serious diseases, and even pose a fatal threat to life.
In order to deal with the problems caused by the snail, people have tried various removal methods, although the manual removal method is effective, but the labor intensity is high, and it is difficult to remove it completely, although the chemical solution method can quickly kill the snail, but there is a potential risk to the environment and human health.
In this case, biological control has become a new option, and ducks have become the natural enemies of the snails, they can not only eat the snails, but also swallow the eggs of the snails, thus effectively controlling the number of snails.
The ducks were stocked before the winter, when the snails were at their peak of reproduction, and the arrival of the ducks was undoubtedly a heavy blow to them.
In nature, in addition to ducks, the nemesis of snails includes birds such as the snail kite and the Asian pincer-billed stork, which use the snail as their main food source and effectively limit the growth of its population and maintain the ecological balance by preying on the snail.
The presence of these natural predators cannot completely eliminate the threat posed by the snail, so people still need to continue to explore and practice new control methods.
Although the snails have caused many problems to humans, in some places, they are also used in various ways, for example, in some areas, people will use the shell of the snail as a toy, or fry it, which reflects a helpless and ingenious way of dealing with the snail.
04
Other failed invasive species
Tilapia is native to the Nile River basin in Africa, and its ability to survive and reproduce is very strong, and when tilapia first set foot on the land of China, its attitude was quite arrogant.
How could Chinese foodies tolerate such rampant meat? Because of the ease of cultivation of meat, tilapia was quickly brought to our table, and even became a popular farmed fish and exported to earn foreign exchange. Tilapia has become a home-cooked dish, but its once arrogance is gone.
The Egyptian pond catfish from Africa is quite similar to the continental catfish, so it has the nickname of "leather-bearded catfish" among the people. This fish is very tenacious. Compared with tilapia, it is more adaptable to all kinds of harsh environments, even in places such as stinky gutters.
At first, the meat quality of the Egyptian pond fish did not attract attention and affection, and over time, people began to realize the acceptability of its meat quality, but the fish still has some unsatisfactory characteristics, such as a strong odor, which makes it slightly embarrassing in some ways.
Native to the Black Sea, the zebra mussel is extremely fertile and has caused serious problems in the United States, threatening transportation and nuclear safety.
In China, zebra mussels are endangered, despite their rapid reproduction, mainly because they are not reproducing fast enough to be eaten.
Sunfish is known as the "American King of Fish", the reproductive ability is super strong, it is not easy to catch this fish, but its meat is delicious, and the nutrition is still very rich, so the sunfish in many places are almost gone, just because it is so delicious, everyone wants to eat.
In the case of a seawater intrusion in Jiaozhou Bay in Shandong Province, the starfish quickly boarded the barbecue stall and was sold out, and due to the dry meat, the starfish did not conform to the Chinese food culture. However, in China's populous market, the problem does not seem to be a problem.
Tumbleweeds from the United States and water hyacinth from South America have also been spared, both of which have caused invasion problems, but in China they have not caused a large-scale flood, because both plants are included in the range of ingredients, although not many people eat them.
Oysters, an exotic species from Denmark that have been rampant in the region, are in short supply in the Chinese market, and the Chinese's hope that the price of oysters will be reduced has not yet been realized, because the high price of oysters contrasts sharply with their deliciousness.
Both bullfrogs and crayfish come from North America, and bullfrogs were originally introduced to China for farming for food, but the native wild bullfrogs are almost extinct, and the number farmed is not enough to meet demand.
In contrast, the fate of crayfish was more dramatic, and in the early days crayfish were only used as feed for bullfrogs, and people were not interested in this hard-shelled animal with little shrimp meat.
As foodies experimented, crayfish gradually became a popular ingredient in China's night snack markets, and for the sake of food, crayfish had to bear the heavy price of being thrown into a frying pan and served on the table, becoming one of the most humiliating invasive species in history. #MCN首发激励计划#
Resources
[1] Shangguan News "Duck Duck Team" has made great contributions! A community in Jinhai has → to control river pollution in this way