Influence of photoperiod on the behavioral response to olfactory stimulation in the snail Helix pomatia L.

An ethanol vapor concentration of 1.6 mmol/l was used to test the diurnal variations of the olfactory response in two groups of snails, which were adapted to different light-dark cycles. The results revealed that the olfactory sensitivity to stimulation with ethanol was significantly increased during the day-time, which corresponds to the scotophase of the light-dark cycle, to which the animals had been adapted (chi2-test, P < 0.01).