Pheromones and Butterflies

A vibrant slash of warm color streaks across the afternoon sky, gently ascending on yellow lantana blooms. The monarch butterfly is one of the most famous and breathtaking butterflies humans have sighted, and the use of pheromones continues its survival on a day to day basis. Pheromones are secreted by these majestic wonders and those of its kind in order to warn of sudden danger, to establish territory, and to attract a mate. Without pheromones, there would be no monarchs, or butterflies at all. What a dull world it would be.

By definition, pheromones are specific chemical substances released by many kinds of animals in order to communicate with other members of their species. In their independent populations, these creatures warn each other of upcoming danger. In fact, it has been scientifically proven that butterflies intercommunicate to apprise each other of fast-flying predators, fruit bats. When all are notified, the population unites in numbers to escape, and such is the saying of safety in numbers. Many times, this ability to alert each other saves the lives of these beautiful monarchs. Without pheromones, there would be no way to know danger until it was sprung upon the victim. The safety pheromones guarantee is one of the primary reasons butterflies, as a whole, are more populous, rather than endangered. The process of evolution over time has equipped butterflies with this vital and necessary trait, but, after all, the purposes of pheromones are multi-fold.