WHAT: NHM’s annual community science slugfest, SNERCH, returns from February 1 to March 31.
The search for snails and slugs, now known as SNERCH (a portmanteau of Snail Search), asks volunteers to scour Southern California for snails and slugs during the two-month run and share photographs of as many of the slimy critters as they can find. Formerly known as Snail Blitz, SNERCH is the U.S.’s longest-running and largest community science project focused on snails and slugs. Past contributions have uncovered non-native and endangered species.
Whether they’re in your backyard, at the local park, or along your favorite hike, every snail or slug photographed will help NHM scientists like Associate Curator of Malacology, Dr. Jann Vendetti, learn more about the biodiversity of Southern California.
“Snails and slugs are fascinating creatures and crucial parts of Southern California’s biodiversity,” says Vendetti. “They are woefully under-appreciated, both as fascinating animals with complicated mating rituals, unique life-cycles, and dazzling adaptations, as well as being key to understanding the health of ecosystems. They have an outsized impact on our economy as agricultural pests, they’re under-studied as a group, and frankly, many of them are adorable.”
SNERCH is part of the larger SLIME (Snails and Slugs Living in Metropolitan Environments) project on iNaturalist. Visit nhm.org/snail-search for more information.
Participants can share their finds in three ways:
Upload photos to iNaturalist (They will automatically be included in Snerch: Snail Search 2026. Identify it as “Common Land Snails and Slugs” or “Stylommatophora” if you are not sure which species you have observed.) iNaturalist is a free app that helps you identify wildlife by uploading a photo or audio recording, available on Apple, Android, and at iNaturalist.org
E-mail photos to slime@nhm.org (include the date and location (address or intersection) where each photo was taken
Post snail and slug photos to Instagram and tag us @natureinla, and NHM staff and volunteers will contact you so your photo can be added to the project.
MEDIA CONTACT
Tyler Hayden
213.763.3508
thayden@nhm.org