Pheromones

A pheromone is a substance secreted by an animal that influences the behavior of other animals of the same species. Recent studies indicate that such chemical communication is surprisingly common

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Edward O. Wilson has made major contributions to a number of fields, including the behavior and evolution of social insects, chemical communication, and the evolution of social behavior. His interest in living organisms, especially ants, stems back to his childhood and to his undergraduate studies in evolutionary biology at the University of Alabama. He received his Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University, where he is now Pellegrino University Research Professor and Honorary Curator in Entomology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Among his many honors are the National Medal of Science, two Pulitzer Prizes (for On Human Nature, 1978, and The Ants, 1990, with Bert Hölldobler), and the Tyler Prize for environmental achievement. Other groundbreaking books include Consilience and Sociobiology.

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Scientific American Magazine Vol 208 Issue 5This article was published with the title “Pheromones” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 208 No. 5 (), p. 100
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0563-100

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