How Does a Snail Reproduce?

Timing

• Snail mating and reproduction generally occurs right after the snails come out of hibernation. This can vary greatly depending on the area of the world that you are in, but most of the time this is in early spring. After the snails come out of hibernation and have secured food, they will immediately begin searching for a mate. Most species of snails are hermaphrodites, meaning that they possess both male and female reproductive organs, allowing them to mate with any other member of their species.

Attraction

• When a terrestrial snail begins its hunt for a suitable mate, it will secrete a hormonal sexual attractant from a gland on its head which will help the snails find one another. This process is called the attraction phase and will last until a snail has found a mate, and may begin again after the snails have completed copulation and search out other mates. During this time, snails may accidentally be attracted to and may even try to mate with snails of other species, which will not, however, produce fertile offspring.

Courtship

• The next stage of the reproductive process is courtship. In many species of snails, courtship can range from 10 to 20 hours, during which both snails will rise up and the snail will place the flat side of its foot against the foot of the other snail, and they will touch each other with their tentacles and lips, and may sway gently. During this time, some snail species will even jab their mates with so-called "love-darts" that cause heightened activity and arousal in the stung snail due to an injection of hormones.

Copulation

• After the hours of courtship are completed and both snails find a suitable position, they will begin copulation. This process takes but a fraction of the time of courtship. A spermatophore will be produced in either snail's body and will fill with sperm cells that will be transmitted to and stored in the mate's sperm sac. The pair will remain together, unmoving for some time after copulation to ensure the successful transfer or sperm cells. Once separated, however, the snails will move on to other mates. The eggs that the snail carries will not be fertilized until they are about to be laid, so there is no guarantee that any snail that mates with the egg-layer will have fathered any of the eggs.