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Siput Gondang Emas (Pomacea/Apple Snail)

When I was quite young, I used to go back to the village and play on the paddy fields. As far as I remembered those days our paddy fields were free from the Siput Gondang Emas (SGE) menace. I only noticed it a number of years back when I saw some pink-like growth on the stalks of the paddy plant and side of the paddy bunds. I asked my grandma what it was. “Itu siput” she said. It looks cute and so harmless at that time.

When I was stationed at the Agriculture ministry, only then I knew how serious the SGE menace was. If not properly controlled, the SGE can decimate your paddy field. It multiplies very quickly and spreads easily to nearby fields through the waterways.

Last weekend we went to the museum to visit the heritage site. The pond there though void of paddy is infected with SGE too. One lump of SGE eggs caught my eye. Perhaps it’s the only one that I could photograph safely without falling into the pond!

This is how the SGE looks like full grown.

For more info on SGE visit

http://www.applesnail.net/content/species/pomacea_canaliculata.htm