INSECT PHEROMONES: GENERAL

STRUCTURAL FEATURES, IMPORTANCE AND 

ADVANTAGE OF PHEROMONES OVER
CONVENTIONAL PESTICIDES.
SAKSHI SOAM
MSC PART 2
20MSC010
INTRODUCTION
• The term “pheromone” was first introduced by Peter Karlson and Martin Luscher in 1959.

• It is Greek origin in which phero “to carry or transfer” and hormone “to stimulate”.

• “Pheromones is secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in

members of the same species”.

• Pheromones are the chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting
individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual.
• Pheromones are hormones secreted as liquids from glands in honeybee
adults, larvae, or pupae
• They induce behavioral responses in other bees by coming into physical
contact with bee’s antennae and mouthparts, whose receptors interpret the
signals
DIVERSITY OF CHEMICAL STRUCTURE

 CHIRALITY
• In leaf cutter 365 ants, the (S)-isomer of the alarm pheromone 366 4-methyl-3-heptanone
was shown to be 400 times more effective 367 than the (R)-isomer
 LENGTH
• Differences in pheromone length can also affect the specificity of the behavior it induces.
 DOUBLE BOND PLACEMENT
• Considerable variety in double bond position can be found amongst closely related
species, and this placement is often crucial to the species specificity and function of a
pheromone
ADVANTAGES

• They are non pollutant and ecologically acceptable

• These are labor saving
• These are species specific
• Easy handling
ADVANTAGES OVER CONVENTIONAL PESTICIDE

• Biological pest control has some distinct advantages compared to chemical pest control.
Farmers and gardeners do not have to worry about poisoning themselves, their families,
or their pets when they treat their crops or plants.

• There are no toxic chemicals to store and no concerns about children or animals
discovering the stored pesticides.
• There are no pesticides to give off dangerous vapors, accumulate in the soil, or collect in water.

• The food that's produced will be free of pesticides (or low in pesticides, since the food may have picked
up the pesticides distributed by other people).
DISADVANTAGES

• Pheromones have to be identified in many wild species

• Sex pheromones can attract only one sex
• Farmers should have the knowledge about the pheromones
• Quick results cannot be obtained
CONCLUSION

Chemical ecology has come a long way in the past five decades or so since bombykol was
first chemical identified

In addition, the biochemistry and regulation of pheromone production are so clearly

delineated in some systems that plants can be engineered to emit insect pheromones with
the proper stereochemistry in order to control the behavior of pests
REFERENCES

• (1) Dr. Dinesh Navale_VES College_Pheromone 1. 1–14.

• (2) Definition of Pheromones. 1974, No. 6.
• (3) Howse, P. E.; Stevens, I. D. R.; Jones, O. T. Chemical Structures and Diversity of
Pheromones. Insect Pheromones their Use Pest Manag. 1998, 135–179.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5344-7_5.
• (4) Yew, J. Y.; Chung, H. Insect Pheromones: An Overview of Function, Form, and
Discovery. Prog. Lipid Res. 2015, 59 (June), 88–105.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plipres.2015.06.001
THANK YOU