Pheromones are chemical signals used for communication within a species. Bees use isopentyl acetate as an alarm signal, while ants use pheromone trails for navigation. The existence of human pheromones is not conclusively proven, and claims of sales for human pheromones are a myth. The first pheromone was identified in 1956 by German scientists, but detecting pheromones in complex species like humans is difficult.
Pheromones are any chemical signal used to communicate between members of a species. The existence of pheromones has been studied more extensively than insects, but it is likely that more complex species also possess pheromones. Their existence in humans has not been conclusively proven. If pheromone-emitting organs still exist in more complex species, they may only be vestigial, as members of those species have evolved more sophisticated ways to communicate.
As a concrete example of a well-known pheromone, bees use isopentyl acetate as an alarm signal. Guard bees are able to raise their abdomens and emit pheromones, flapping their wings to further transmit the chemical. This way, an entire hive of bees can be quickly notified of an incoming threat, enabling them to act in concert. When bees sting a target, high concentrations of pheromones are deposited along with the venom, encouraging other bees to aid in the attack by stinging at the same spot. The effects can be devastating.
Ants use trails of pheromones to travel to and from food sources and nests. If the trail is cut from a pheromone-free material, such as chalk, the ants will stop and wander randomly or head in the opposite direction. Before the advent of eyes, pheromones could be reliably used for insect navigation and a variety of signaling.
Charlatans advertised sales of human pheromones. They stated that there are distinct pheromones for members of each genus that are used to signal one another sexually. This is a myth. The evidence for the existence of active human pheromones is dubious. In one case, testing of a product advertised as a human pheromone ended up being a canine pheromone.
The first pheromone was identified by German scientists in 1956. They worked for more than 20 years to isolate it. It was a powerful sex pheromone used by silkworm moths. Because animals like humans have such complicated interactions with members of their own species, it’s difficult to create control groups in experiments designed to detect pheromones. For this reason it may take some time before the presence or absence of active human pheromones is definitively known.
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