What Are the Benefits of Insect Pheromones?
Pheromones are chemicals released from the bodies of insects and other species for communication purposes. These potent chemical messengers are carried by wind over great distances. During the lifetime of an insect, it relies on hundreds of pheromones for locating food, mating, suppressing competition and avoiding predators. Humans have studied insect pheromones during the last century, making scientific breakthroughs that now allow insect pheromones to be a reliable and eco-friendly source of pest management.
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History
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Led by scientists from all corners of the globe, insect pheromone research has progressed rapidly. In its infancy, Jean-Henri Fabre in France and Joseph Lintner in New York studied female silk moth pheromones and their effects on males. Soon scientists in Germany took the research further by grinding up female silkworm moths' abdomens and separating individual chemical components to test their effects on males. Adolph Butenandt pinpointed the attraction chemical in 1959. Shortly after, the term pheromone was coined by German biochemist Peter Karlson and Swiss entomologist Martin Luscher. Pheromone is Greek for "carrier of excitement."
Chemical & Behavioral Tests
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Once scientists determined that pheromone chemicals must be present in the right combination and quantities, they discovered tests to separate the chemical components and identify their chemical composition. These tests include gas chromatography, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. Insect behavior is taken into consideration with tests conducted in wind tunnels designed initially by English zoologist John Kennedy. Pheromones are released into the tunnel and blown through with a fan while researchers track the insect pattern of flight over various terrains.
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Benefits to Insects
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In addition to attracting a mate for reproductive purposes, pheromones are also used by insects for purposes of finding food. Ants leave pheromone trails behind them to show others a source of food. Queen bees emit pheromones that ensure her dominance over a hive by repressing the development of all worker bee ovaries and persuading them to work for her alone. Insects use pheromones as a silent alarm system, altering others to danger.
Pest Management
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Farmers and gardeners have discovered that certain insect pheromones are more effective and less destructive then insecticides at controlling common pests. Pheromones used on tomato plants in Mexico suppress the mating of pinworms to 4 percent in treated fields versus 50 percent in nontreated fields. Cabbage looper moths ignore female pheromones if they are present in overwhelming quantities. In addition to disrupting the mating pattern of pests, pheromones also are used as bait to catch large insect populations, spread disease in targeted insects, determine the timing and necessity of insecticide spraying and tracking pest population and development. Unlike insecticides, pheromones have no damaging effects to human or beneficial insect populations.
Research
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The field of insect pheromones is still being intensely researched. It is focused on pheromone production, response mechanisms and locating the specific neurological pathways that pheromones follow. If these pathways are located, research will continue on determining how to shut off the response in the brain. In addition, researchers are looking for improved uses and longer-lasting, more potent and less costly pheromones that are easier to use.
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