pheromones
by John Hawkhead
the short-lived affair
of ant flights
The word ‘Pheromone’ derives from the Greek words ‘pherein’ (to carry) and ‘hormon’ (to excite). They are chemical messengers emitted by a body into the environment where they can activate specific physiological or behavioural responses in other individuals of the same species.
During the nuptial mating flights of ants, pheromones work as chemical control centres. They are the impetus behind the synchronized mass take-off from ant colonies and the mid-air attraction between virgin-queens and drones.
Recent studies have found that pheromones may also play an important role in the behavioural and reproduction biology of humans.
Further reading:
‘Pheromones’, Wikipedia article, available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheromone
Author bio:
John Hawkhead (@haikuhawk.bsky.social) is a writer and artist from the south-west of England. His work has been published globally over the last 25 years, including three books of haiku / senryu: ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’ (available from Alba Publishing. http://www.albapublishing.com/) and ‘Four Horse Parable’ (available from Nun Prophet Press).