Pheromones in Insects: Not Just for Communicating

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Pheromones are defined as being chemical substances that are produced and released into the environment by an animal which affects the behavior or physiology of others in its species. This word is derived from the Greek words "pherin", which means "to carry", and "horman", which means "to excite" or "to stimulate". So pheromones exist in order to carry messages that will excite or stimulate other individuals in their species. Many animals make use of pheromones, which include reptiles, amphibians, and some mammals. Even humans make use of pheromones in things like perfume or cologne. However, it is uncertain if these pheromones have any real affects on other humans. Another group of animals that use pheromones are the insects.     


    Insects approach pheromones quite differently than our human brains might assume. To us humans, we think of pheromones as being something we are able to smell through our noses. However, insects do not have noses. Instead, they make use of "specialized receptors" that can be found on their antennae and tarsi. Insects almost entirely rely on pheromones in order to communicate with other individuals of their species because the chemicals are able to linger for a long period of time and are effective over long distances. Pheromones are made useful in attracting mates, leaving trails to food, warning other individuals, marking territory, warding off others, and recognizing each other.  


    An example of an insect that is commonly associated with the use of pheromones is within the order Hymenoptera and the family Formicidae, which are the ants. Ants are excellent at using pheromones to help them communicate very important information to the others in their colony. For instance, ants can leave pheromone trails to guide other ants toward a source of food so that they can also eat. Ants can also leave distress pheromones which help to alert the rest of the colony that there is danger close or as a call for help. In response to this message, the rest of the colony will gather to fight off the danger or provide assistance. 

    Bark beetles are another lesser known example of an insect that uses pheromones. Bark beetles use an aggregation pheromone. This means that whenever this pheromone is produced, the bark beetles are telling other bark beetles that this tree has space and is a good one. On the other hand, when the tree has no more room left, the bark beetles will start to produce a pheromone that tells other bark beetles to go to another tree. This kind of pheromone is referred to as an anti-aggregation pheromone. Since bark beetles, but especially mountain pine beetles, are able to have such good communication, they have become a huge reason for an increased rate of tree mortality in forests. For this reason, researchers created a tool called SPLAT Verb to target the mountain pine beetles. It essentially uses their own anti-aggregation pheromone against them. It has been seen to be very effective in repelling mountain pine beetles from attacking healthy trees.


    
    Using pheromones to repel pests, like the SPLAT Verb with the mountain pine beetle, have been proven to be useful. But, there are also things called pheromone insect lures that have been one of the most important methods of pest management. The pheromone insect lures, as you can tell from the name, lure a specific insect in to the trap by releasing a pheromone that mimics the pheromones that females give off to attract a mate. The males of that species will sense the pheromone and will naturally move towards it. Then, once the male is in, he will get stuck in the bottom and die. This, in my opinion, is a dark way to go about it, but it does work! Which is very interesting.


References

https://www.animalfoodplanet.com/how-do-insects-communicate/

https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/pheromones

https://romneypestcontrol.com/what-are-pheromone-trails-and-how-do-ants-use-them/#:~:text=Ants%20use%20pheromone%20trails%20to,ants%20can%20find%20nourishment%2C%20too.

https://study.com/learn/lesson/pheromone-types-function-examples.html

https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2016-08-19/a-new-weapon-in-the-bark-beetle-fight-pheromones

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