Princeton Square Boulevard Apartments, Southeastern Duval County

      Field surveys conducted during 2005-2006 consistently demonstrated that the Baymeadows area of southeastern Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida was rich in locations harboring breeding populations of  Pomacea paludosa (Say, 1829) [Florida Applesnail]. Those locations included a small roadside retention pond, a golf course water hazard, and a large man-made lake - all located north of six-laned Baymeadows Road. After reviewing satellite imagery, on February 10, 2007 an exploratory trip was made to a small lake in the Princeton Square Apartment Complex located at 8321 Princeton Square Boulevard - a location south of Baymeadows Road.

    Upon arrival at the south end of the lake, an empty  Pomacea paludosa shell was plainly visible on the lake bottom, and within minutes, a live specimen was located in the same general area. The north end of the lake was then investigated and Pomacea egg clutches from the 2006 breeding season were found on a concrete culvert. Although the northern end of the lake is only about 300 meters south of two locations north of Baymeadows Road with known Pomacea paludosa populations, there was no obvious connection between those locations and the Princeton Square lake. However, an unseen underground pipeline cannot be entirely discounted. A second interconnected lake in a nearby apartment complex (Green Tree Place) was not investigated but it appears likely that it too has a resident population of Pomacea paludosa.

Northeast shoreline of the lake

Live Pomacea paludosa from the lake

Looking north from the southern end of the lake