Development of eggs Yoda snail (Lymnaea st.)

As described in a previous blog, the Yoda snail lays its eggs in a jelly-like “cylinder” containing multiple eggs. This is a very beautiful process and we thought it would be fun to document it. That is why we made recordings every day to be able to follow the development of eggs Yoda snail (Lymnaea st.) very well. We had chosen this moment because one of our Yoda snails had laid its eggs at the front against the glass. This gave us a good view of the eggs.

To start with day 1 of course. The discovery of the eggs on the glass! Nice! This rarely happens, since the Yoda snail has a strong preference for laying its eggs on the underside of a leaf (near the water).

As you can see, it’s nothing more than dozens of jelly balls with a small white dot in the middle. Those dots should all become baby Yoda snails. It takes between 10-14 days on average, so we wait patiently. Then day 2…..

Not really a significant change yet, but we are still doing well. The white dots seem to be a bit bigger. You can also see that some jelly balls are unfortunately empty. Hopefully the rest will continue to do well. On to day 3…

The white dots seem to be turning into worms. They are already moving a bit. This looks good! On to day 4….

On day 4 we still see the white worms. They seem to be a bit bigger, but we can also look into it. Patience is a virtue.
On to day 5…

Yes! On day 5 you can see that they have suddenly become much thicker. They have really got a bulge that will become the snail shell. Very nice to see. On to day 6…..

On day 6 they are a lot rounder again, but also whiter. They are less transparent and jelly-like and seem to become a bit harder in structure. On to day 7…

On day 7 we unfortunately see little significant change. Still everything seems to be going well. They are still moving a lot. On to day 8…

Day 8, on the other hand, shows a lot of progress! The differences between the body and the snail shell are now easy to differentiate. The snail shell has an almost glass-like appearance and the body seems to be getting a bit darker. Significant development! On to day 9…

Day 9 also shows a very nice development. What was described as glassy on day 8 regarding the snail shell, now seems to become more stony. The body is also now even better distinguishable.
On to day 10…

On day 10 it is clear that the end of this phase is in sight. Another jelly cylinder had already fallen to the bottom of the water. It seems that the baby snails are getting too heavy for the jelly cylinder. They will now use the remaining jelly for further growth, but from now on the process of baby snail to adult snail begins 🙂