Pheromone
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A pheromone (from Greek φέρω phero "to bear" + hormone from Greek ὁρμή - "impetus") is a chemical signal that triggers a natural response in another member of the same species. There are alarm pheromones, food trail pheromones, sex pheromones, and many others that affect behavior or physiology. Their use among insects has been particularly well documented. In addition, some vertebrates and plants communicate
Sex
In animals, sex pheromones indicate the availability of the female for breeding. Male animals may also emit pheromones that convey information about their species and genotype.
At the microscopic level, male copepods can follow a three-dimensional pheromone trail left by a swimming female, and male gametes of many animals use a pheromone to help find a female gamete, for fertilization.
Many insect species release sex pheromones to attract a mate, and many lepidopterans (moths and butterflies) can detect a potential mate from as far away as 10 kilometers (6.25 mi). Traps containing pheromones are used by farmers to detect and monitor insect populations in orchards.
Pheromones are also used in the detection of oestrus in sows. Boar pheromones are sprayed into the sty, and those sows that exhibit sexual arousal are known to be currently available for breeding. Sea urchins release pheromones into the surrounding water, sending a chemical message that triggers other urchins in the colony to eject their sex cells simultaneously.
See also
- Allomone
- Estratetraenol
- Cat pheromone
- Honey bee pheromones
- Kairomone
- Osmeterium, an organ in swallowtail caterpillars
- Pheromone trap
- Pheromones in fiction
- Quorum sensing
- Semiochemical
- Sexual attraction
