Abstract
Faecal analysis of adult Cepaea nemoralis (L). and three size-classes of juveniles collected from chalk grassland showed that dead plant material was preferred to fresh, and herbs to grasses. Adult snails showed greater selectivity than juveniles. During the year the diet changed according to the availability of preferred materials. Assimilation efficiency, by weight, was 25-55 % on natural foods. In the laboratory juveniles were given pure diets of five natural foods and a mixture. Growth was poor on all diets, but best on Leontodon hispidus and worst on the grasses Arrhenatherum elatius and Festuca spp. Variation in growth rates was due mainly to differences in amounts consumed and assimilated. Laboratory results are discussed in relation to the field diet of the snail.
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