Kairomone - Predators Use Them To Find Prey

Predators Use Them To Find Prey

An example of this can be found in the Ponderosa Pine tree (Pinus ponderosa), which produces a terpene called myrcene when it is damaged by the Western pine beetle. Instead of deterring the insect, it acts synergistically with aggregation pheromones which in turn act to lure more beetles to the tree.

Specialist predatory beetles find bark beetles (their prey) using the pheromones the bark beetles produce. In this case the chemical substance produced is both a pheromone (communication between bark beetles) and a kairomone (eavesdropping). This was discovered accidentally when the predatory beetles and other enemies were attracted to insect traps baited with bark beetle pheromones.

Pheromones of different kinds may be exploited as kairomones by receivers. The German wasp, Vespula germanica is attracted to a pheromone produced by male Mediterranean fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata) when lekking (a lek is a gathering of males for mating display), causing the death of some. In contrast, it is the alarm pheromone (used to communicate the presence of a threat) of an ant (Iridomyrmex purpureus) that a spider predator is attracted to.

Read more about this topic:  Kairomone

Famous quotes containing the words find and/or prey:

    Every fact is related on one side to sensation, and, on the other, to morals. The game of thought is, on the appearance of one of these two sides, to find the other: given the upper, to find the under side.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    I love to see that Nature is so rife with life that myriads can be afforded to be sacrificed and suffered to prey on one another; that tender organizations can be so serenely squashed out of existence like pulp.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)