A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Gastropod

Everyone has welcomed the recent rains. The heavy downpours in the last week caused localised flooding but no-one seemed to mind. Any rain is good.

But spare a thought for all the critters which have lost their homes in the recent deluge. When rain falls lightly ground dwelling animals such as reptiles, insects and the like have time to decide whether or not to vacate their tunnels and burrows and head to drier ground. However when the rain falls heavily and the water level rises quickly these animals don’t have time to decide and are often caught unawares.

Rove Beetle (Thyreocephalus sp.)

After the recent heavy downpours in the district last week all manner of creatures were caught out. On the edges of dams and waterways fauna were seen swimming or floating on the surface of the water trying to find something to cling onto until the water receded. Usually it was a piece of vegetation such as a blade of grass or stick.

Sometimes they even hitch-hiked on other creatures to stop from drowning. If you look carefully at the picture below, a garden snail became a life raft to a centipede, several slaters and a wolf spider. Meanwhile the nearby grass stems were covered with other critters escaping the deluge.

It seems in times of survival, old enmities are put aside. Just wait until the water goes down though!