AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Alarm pheromones are produced mostly by social insects to warn other colony members of danger and to recruit for colony defense. It is certainly more adaptive and effective for a species to mount a collective response to some traumatic stimulus rather than an individual response.

Detailed explanation-2: -Abstract. Insect alarm pheromones are chemical substances that are synthesized and released in response to predators to reduce predation risk. Alarm pheromones can also be perceived by predators, who take advantage of alarm cues to locate prey.

Detailed explanation-3: -The function of alarm pheromones is to warn colony members of an enemy intrusion and not to ward off the intruders. Some insects, especially ants and stinging wasps, can “tag” an enemy with the alarm pheromone so that others know it is an intruder.

Detailed explanation-4: -A pheromone is a species-specific chemical signal that incites a response in another organism. Pheromones are involved in a wide variety of behaviors, including mate selection, food acquisition, alarm responses, territory marking, predation defenses, and other social behaviors indicating social status.

Detailed explanation-5: -In most mammals, pheromones usually are detected by a specialized organ inside the nose or mouth called the vomeronasal organ, or VNO. Nerves connect it to parts of the brain involved in reactions rather than cognition. In humans, the organ appears in embryos with its nerve cells extending into the developing brain.