Slimy Hanky-Panky

I didn't mean to harass them or invade their snaily privacy again, but since I was just blogging about this and my camera was already in my hand, pictures had to be taken. The one below is the undisturbed version: one dark Apple Snail and one light one sharing intimacy, so to speak. Snails seem to enjoy sharing intimacy quite often and for a long time.

Then I tried to gently move that little plant shooter out of the way so you could see both snails well. At that moment, the dark one let go of the edge and both dropped to the bottom.

See, when these guys are having sex, I've notice that they usually do it right near the surface of the water so their siphons can reach the air. (Apple Snails have a lung as well as a gill for breathing.  Becoming worried that I had caused them harm by making them drop mid-sex (how would they crawl back up while attached together?) and nervous that one or both of them wouldn't be able to use their gills to breathe, I picked them up to place them on a plant nearer to the surface, just in case. And I might as well snap a few shots while I'm at it. That was my rationalization, anyway. (Later, I checked on them, and they were happily going at it near the surface.)

Below:  A Ramshorn Snail eating schmutz off the Apple Snails' shells while they're engaged in intercourse.

By the way, the etymology of "hanky-panky" is pretty interesting. It probably evolved from "hocus pocus" in the 1800s, and it meant/means "trickery, deception, fraud." Webster's second definition is "sexual dalliance," which is how I've always heard it used — a relative of "fooling around" or even "makin' whoopee." And you may get a kick out of hearing the audio lady pronounce "hanky-panky" a few times, even if you're not a twelve-year-old.

If you are twelve (at least at heart), you'll maybe appreciate that as I'm writing this post, the song that keeps going through my head — other than the obvious "Hanky Panky" by Tommy James and the Shondells  — is that "sensational" YouTube "hit," "Friday" — specifically the part that goes, in such a robotic unfun way, "par-ty-in', par-ty-in' (yeah!) par-ty-in', par-ty-in'...." (If you don't know it, consider yourself lucky. Don't find out about it. I won't link to it. I also won't Rickroll you right now. You're welcome!)