Rearing of Lymnaea columella (Say, 1817), intermediate host of Fasciola hepatica (Linnaeus, 1758)

The intermediate host of Fasciola hepatica, Lymnaea columella, collected in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, was reared in our laboratory. The ai m of the cur rent study was ro standardize a rearing and maintenance techni que. Two kinds of diet were tested: fresh lettuce (A) and rodent ration + 1 0% CaCO3 plus fresh lettuce (B). The age for the beginning of oviposition r anged from 27 to 57 days. Ten days after oviposition at 24.7 degrees C, 100 % eclosion occurred. The complete life cycle varied from 37 to 67 days. The aver age numbers of eggs per egg mass were 26.3 and 31.1 with diets (A) an d(B), respectively The lettuce and ration fed snails presented a increased growth although the difference was nor statistically significant (p > 0.05) . The mortality rate varied from 40 to 64% after 90 days. The maximum longe vity was 183 days, 21.5 mm length and 11 mm wide. The methodology to mass b reed and maintain these snails was found to be suitable in the laboratory.