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What is so special about these eggs, and how can they tell you where this photo was taken?

Answer:

These are eggs from an Apple Snail, but instead of being from the Florida Apple Snail, which lays larger, white eggs, these green eggs are from the Titan Apple Snail. It is native to Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru, but I did not take this photograph there. The only place in the United States where they breed in the wild is the Loxahatchie Refuge, in West Palm Beach, Florida, and that is where this photo was taken.

Efforts are being made to control the Titan Apple snail, along with three other introduced species of Apple Snails. Like many other introduced species, they were brought in as pets, and then released into the wild. One of the easiest ways to control them is to destroy their eggs. Egg masses that are green, pink, or red are from the introduced species, so they are easy to recognize.

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