With the advent of spring, everything comes to life again. Some "pink flowers" have begun to appear in damp corners of parks and residential areas in Guangdong recently. If you look closer, you will find out that these pink-mulberry-like things are made of dozens of little and round balls. Please don't touch this "pink flowers" just out of curiosity, for they may damage your nerve tissue, which can lead to dementia in severe cases.
(Photo: Guangdong Public DV)
In fact, these "pink flowers" are eggs of golden apple snails, a species of large freshwater snail with an almost black body, thin shell, and a large size. Every year from March to November is its breeding season.
(Photo: Guangdong Public DV)
Many golden apple snails have parasites, especially Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a parasitic roundworm that causes angiostrongyliasis. A golden apple snail generally contains 3,000 to 6,000 parasites. The consumption of raw or undercooked golden apple snails may trigger severe stomach disease or central nervous system disease.
Endowed with high reproductive capacity, the snail and can lay 30,000 to 50,000 eggs a year. It will consume vast amounts of rice and can devastate the flora and fauna of natural wetlands due to their voracious feeding habits, then further damage nearby ecosystems.
Some parks in Guangdong will arrange regular clean of these "pink flowers". Please don't have physical contact with, or even eat the snails or their eggs. If you have touched either the flower or the snail accidentally, please consult doctors as soon as possible.
Author: Ariel
Editor: Wing, Steven, Monica, Jerry
