Ok smarty-Pantses......how do snails know the difference between watering and rain?

They saw you take the watering can. Do you think they're slow or something?

yup.

hard to fool bees as well...

Yes, I think they're slow and they saw nothing of the sort.

I didn't use a watering can, just for starters.

Anyway...why should it make a difference to them?

I think the little buggers are out having sex and all.

Noted...but not illuminating.

speaking of illumination...

was it cloudy like rain?

snails don't much care for the sunshine.

It is cloudy..with lots of lightning.

Do they care for electrocution?

probably not.

when you watered them was it cloudy like rain?

and why were you watering them in the first place.

you're a snail farmer now?

Yes, it was cloudy like rain.

Because it was hot and dry.

Seemingly.....though not purposively. I just couldn't slaughter more than a couple in cold blood!

I don't know about your water, but around here rain water is special. When I had a lawn, watering would keep it from dying. It took rain for it to thrive.

Maybe it's something about the combination of rain, or rain cleaning the atmosphere, and/or the cloudy day.

Perhaps....but how do they KNOW?

Little barometers in the inner ear, of course.

Snails have ears? You should ask a snail.

They don't have ears....they feel vibrations through their footses.

Maybe its the chlorination. Sapping vital body fluids.

Hmmmmmmmmm.......

Snails are extremely sensitive to the humidity of the air rather than the moisture on the ground. And they will come out on humid nights even if it hasn't rained.

You (and I) would think that a big splash of water on the ground would trigger the same response, but based on your experiment, I guess not.

Firstly, rain water and tap water taste different from one anopther. If you were taste them yourself, you'd notice the difference.

Secondly, the pH level isoften fairly different. Here locally tap water is fairly neutral ph of 7.0, wheras rain water is fairly acidic say 6.0-6.5.

Thirdly, the mineral or hardness vs softeness is different. Rainwater might have more calcium and trace minerals than tap water.

Forthly, bacteria and live organisms may exist in rain water. Not to mention the chlorine and other chems added to your tap water (unless you've dechlorinated it).
Snails

Snails indeed.

Creatures of mystery.

Maybe snails are smarter then you give them credit for. Maybe they listen to NPR and the Weather Channel for the news on the weather.

I think that snails could in fact be news and weather junkies.

This is just a guess but.
Snails DO have very sharp smell and chemical sensors in their radulae. Prhaps, the smell associated with a T storm is picked up as a "come n get it" signal.

T storms have certain compounds that are generated by the storm (O3 ), and in the soil (nitrosamines and thiones diluted in a nice water base). Maybe these guys use that as a signal.
When you water the plants, you dont release Ozone or the others and the snails are all under leaves and **** so they dont dessicate.

OR

Maybe they watch the Weather Channel