Above, the snail is looking right at me. Enlarge the picture to see the eyes. Admire the crazy white flesh and big "foot" as the snail climbs the stem of the water peony leaf.
It may not be obvious from the picture that these are aquatic snails and therefore underwater at the time I'm photographing them. Below, you can see the snail just below the water line at the edge of the pond near the egg-laying site. Notice the siphon showing a little at the snail's left side. Apparently, the siphon and the above-water pink egg-laying are unique to the Apple Snail.
Eggs! I read that things will eat the eggs, but they taste horrible (defense mechanism), so nothing eats the eggs for long.
With my hand, for scale.
The eggs typically hatch in two weeks if they maintain enough humidity and if they otherwise survive. Stay tuned!
P.S For everything you'd ever want to know about Apple Snails — and much more, including recipes :( — check out http://www.applesnail.net/.
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