What is the range of chemical formulas of confirmed pheromones? Eg. In alarm pheromones and food trail pheromones.

mollwollfumble said:

What is the range of chemical formulas of confirmed pheromones?

There are thousands of known pheromones, running the full gamut of functional groups. The “range” of formulas could not be concisely described.

Here’s a functional group list to get you started.

http://www.pherobase.com/database/compound/compounds-fg.php

That’s a huge range. It almost looks as if it’s easier to list those chemicals that are not pheromones/semiochemicals.

Semiochemical – Wikipedia
It is usually used in the field of chemical ecology to encompass pheromones, allomones, kairomones, attractants and repellents. Many insects, including parasitic insects, use semiochemicals, which are natural chemicals released by an organism that affect the behaviors of other individuals.

A much briefer summary of trail and alarm pheromones is here.
https://bio.kuleuven.be/ento/pdfs/billen_morgan_1998_ch1_pheromone_communication_social_insects.pdf

Despite the huge range, it seems common for different species to use the same pheromone. Could lead to confusion?

Are you trying to make a spray to attract women and or men.

You dress like and act like Austin Powers and spritz yourself with your pheromone spray before you go out on the town

Cymek said:

Are you trying to make a spray to attract women and or men.

You dress like and act like Austin Powers and spritz yourself with your pheromone spray before you go out on the town

It’s been 15 years since I last dressed and acted like Austin Powers. I have a sister in law who still does.

Well, obviously perfume is used to repel men. It tastes revolting. If women wanted a perfume to attract men then it would smell like watermelon.

More seriously it occurred to me that nearly all animals and many plants use pheromones but nobody talks about what chemicals they are. Smell is a universal way for species to communicate with one another and I know so little about it.

Suppose an ant for instance wanted to send a welcome message to an alien. Then it could send the chemical formula for its trail-laying pheromone. Or a stay-away message could be the chemical formula for its alarm pheromone.

mollwollfumble said:

Cymek said:

Are you trying to make a spray to attract women and or men.

You dress like and act like Austin Powers and spritz yourself with your pheromone spray before you go out on the town

It’s been 15 years since I last dressed and acted like Austin Powers. I have a sister in law who still does.

Well, obviously perfume is used to repel men. It tastes revolting. If women wanted a perfume to attract men then it would smell like watermelon.

More seriously it occurred to me that nearly all animals and many plants use pheromones but nobody talks about what chemicals they are. Smell is a universal way for species to communicate with one another and I know so little about it.

Suppose an ant for instance wanted to send a welcome message to an alien. Then it could send the chemical formula for its trail-laying pheromone. Or a stay-away message could be the chemical formula for its alarm pheromone.

That reminded me of an episode of MASH were a smell triggered an unconscious physical reaction in Hawkeye due to a deeply repressed memory of a friend betraying him when he was a child, the wet smell of being pushed into a lake.

mollwollfumble said:

Cymek said:

Are you trying to make a spray to attract women and or men.

You dress like and act like Austin Powers and spritz yourself with your pheromone spray before you go out on the town

It’s been 15 years since I last dressed and acted like Austin Powers. I have a sister in law who still does.

Well, obviously perfume is used to repel men. It tastes revolting. If women wanted a perfume to attract men then it would smell like watermelon.

More seriously it occurred to me that nearly all animals and many plants use pheromones but nobody talks about what chemicals they are. Smell is a universal way for species to communicate with one another and I know so little about it.

Suppose an ant for instance wanted to send a welcome message to an alien. Then it could send the chemical formula for its trail-laying pheromone. Or a stay-away message could be the chemical formula for its alarm pheromone.

I wonder if pheromones could be a means to communicate a complex language or at the very least they supplement a vocal language as a kind of enhancement to the emotions.

Cymek said:

mollwollfumble said:

Cymek said:

Are you trying to make a spray to attract women and or men.

You dress like and act like Austin Powers and spritz yourself with your pheromone spray before you go out on the town

It’s been 15 years since I last dressed and acted like Austin Powers. I have a sister in law who still does.

Well, obviously perfume is used to repel men. It tastes revolting. If women wanted a perfume to attract men then it would smell like watermelon.

More seriously it occurred to me that nearly all animals and many plants use pheromones but nobody talks about what chemicals they are. Smell is a universal way for species to communicate with one another and I know so little about it.

Suppose an ant for instance wanted to send a welcome message to an alien. Then it could send the chemical formula for its trail-laying pheromone. Or a stay-away message could be the chemical formula for its alarm pheromone.

That reminded me of an episode of MASH were a smell triggered an unconscious physical reaction in Hawkeye due to a deeply repressed memory of a friend betraying him when he was a child, the wet smell of being pushed into a lake.

Or to put it another way. Trees use terpenes. Locusts use serotonin. Steroids have been suggested for human pheromones.

But other animals have a very much larger selection than that. Just about everything that is smelly can be a pheromone. And some of these molecules are too big to be smelly, they could only be detected by taste.

Cymek said:

I wonder if pheromones could be a means to communicate a complex language or at the very least they supplement a vocal language as a kind of enhancement to the emotions.

Indeed. Perhaps for every emotion there is a selection of pheromones that can express that emotion. Sort of like body language, but conveyed by smell.

Cymek said:

I wonder if pheromones could be a means to communicate a complex language or at the very least they supplement a vocal language as a kind of enhancement to the emotions.

They do.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-05-01/calls-for-fritz-to-be-recognised-as-sa-icon/9712208

I don’t think I’ve ever tried Fritz.

roughbarked said:

Cymek said:

I wonder if pheromones could be a means to communicate a complex language or at the very least they supplement a vocal language as a kind of enhancement to the emotions.

They do.

I imagine fear and aggression (flight or fight response) would be two common ones, both perhaps related to the smell of adrenaline ?
I was thinking could you have numerous pheromones related to many different types of emotions.

sibeen said:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-05-01/calls-for-fritz-to-be-recognised-as-sa-icon/9712208

I don’t think I’ve ever tried Fritz.

OOPS

sibeen said:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-05-01/calls-for-fritz-to-be-recognised-as-sa-icon/9712208

I don’t think I’ve ever tried Fritz.

It’s very similar to devon, Belgium, mortadella, bologna etc.

I also wonder could you create a pheromone that overrides ones ability to think properly and you all promptly run off a cliff following the pheromone

sibeen said:

sibeen said:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-05-01/calls-for-fritz-to-be-recognised-as-sa-icon/9712208

I don’t think I’ve ever tried Fritz.

OOPS

You be careful with your spoonerisms there, Beeny Boy.

Cymek said:

I also wonder could you create a pheromone that overrides ones ability to think properly and you all promptly run off a cliff following the pheromone

Everything you ever wanted to know about pheromones.

>>What are pheromones and do humans have them?

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232635.php

Woodie said:

sibeen said:

sibeen said:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-05-01/calls-for-fritz-to-be-recognised-as-sa-icon/9712208

I don’t think I’ve ever tried Fritz.

OOPS

You be careful with your spoonerisms there, Beeny Boy.

nice one

Woodie said:

sibeen said:

sibeen said:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-05-01/calls-for-fritz-to-be-recognised-as-sa-icon/9712208

I don’t think I’ve ever tried Fritz.

OOPS

You be careful with your spoonerisms there, Beeny Boy.

snigger