Pheromones or love in the air? Attraction in the animal kingdom
African bush elephant in the Tarangire National Park, Tanzania. Do humans have pheromones that influence sexual attraction? Science is still sniffing out the truth. While animals use pheromones to signal everything from romance to rivalry, human chemistry is more complicated.
As Valentine’s Day rolls around, we humans rely on candlelit dinners, poetic declarations, and (let’s be honest) a little help from chocolates and champagne to spark romance. But in the natural world, love — if we can call it that — is far more efficient. Forget dating apps and awkward first dates; when it comes to attraction, nature has perfected a secret weapon—pheromones.
Pheromones are chemical signals released by animals (and some plants) to communicate with members of the same species. These invisible love letters travel through air or water, triggering anything from attraction to aggression. While we like to think we’re immune to such primal forces, our own biology might beg to differ (more on that later).
If there were an Olympic event for pheromone detection, silkworm moths (Bombyx mori) would take the gold. The female silkworm moths release a pheromone called bombykol, which a male can detect from up to 11 kilometres away — the equivalent of sniffing out a date from Midleton to Carrigtwohill, or Blanchardstown to Lucan. And he doesn’t just register the scent; his specialised antennae are so sensitive they can detect a single molecule of bombykol. When he does, he’s off like a heat-seeking missile flapping his way toward love, with all the determination of a teenage boy over-spritzed with that infamous body spray we all know too well.
Honeybees don’t do democracy, they do monarchy, and it’s all down to pheromones. The queen bee produces a pheromone known as queen mandibular pheromone (QMP), which tells her colony she’s still in charge. This chemical cocktail keeps worker bees busy, prevents them from developing their own ovaries (because the queen is not about sharing power), and attracts drones when it’s time to mate.
However, when a queen’s pheromone levels drop, the workers sense the monarchy is in decline and start rearing a new queen. It’s ruthless, but effective — a pheromone-powered coup d’état.
Male elephants don’t swipe right; they enter a state called musth, a period of heightened testosterone and sexual aggression marked by the release of a pungent, tar-like secretion. This musth juice, which dribbles from glands near their temples, acts as a supercharged pheromone, letting females (and rival males) know that a bull is ready to fight and mate.
For female elephants, musth signals the arrival of a prime breeding partner. For other males, it’s a clear warning to back off.
Pheromones aren’t just for creatures with legs and wings, many aquatic animals rely on them, too. Female goldfish, for example, release a sex pheromone into the water that signals their readiness to spawn, causing males to start their courtship displays.
Even amphibians, often overshadowed in the romance department, get in on the act. Male salamanders secrete pheromones from their chins, which they literally rub onto females during courtship. It’s not exactly a bouquet of roses, but it does the trick.
Ah, the million-dollar question. While many perfume companies would have you believe that a spritz of their 'pheromone-infused' cologne will make you irresistible, the science is a bit murky. Do humans have pheromones that influence sexual attraction? Science is still sniffing out the truth.
While animals use pheromones to signal everything from romance to rivalry, human chemistry is more complicated. Some studies suggest that compounds in male sweat, such as androstenone, might subtly influence attraction, but the evidence is patchy.
The famous ' sweaty T-shirt study' suggested that women preferred the scent of men with different immune genes, hinting at a biological matchmaking system. But menstrual synchrony, once thought to be pheromone-driven, has been debunked.
Interestingly, recent research suggests that human tears may carry chemical signals too, just not in the way you’d expect. A PLOS Biology study found that sniffing women’s emotional tears reduced male aggression by 44%, possibly serving as a natural social pacifier. So, while body odour and even tears may influence behaviour, love is far more complex than a whiff of sweat or a drops of tears.
In the natural world, pheromones are the ultimate matchmakers, directing everything from silkworm moths’ long-distance love flights to the queen bee’s iron-fisted rule of the hive. For humans, the chemistry of love is less about pheromones and more about an intricate brew of biology, culture, and sheer dumb luck. So, while a whiff of sweat or a tear might nudge our emotions in subtle ways, love (thankfully) is more than a science experiment.
This Valentine’s Day, as you nibble on chocolates and bask in candlelight, take a moment to appreciate how far we’ve come. Sure, modern dating has its awkward moments, but at least you don’t have to secrete pheromone-laced musth juice or detect a mate from 11 kilometres away.
And if all else fails, you could always flap your way to the nearest pub or club... just go easy on the body spray.
And no matter how tempting the ads, you can probably leave the pheromone-infused perfume/aftershave at home. Let’s just say, some things are better left to moths.
