Semochemical

Semochemical, or semiochemical, refers to a chemical substance or mixture that conveys information between living organisms, eliciting a behavioral or physiological response. The term is used in chemical ecology and encompasses signals that influence mating, foraging, defense, and other ecological interactions. Semochemicals can be produced by animals, plants, fungi, or microbes and can act locally or over long distances through air, water, or soil.

Functional categories include pheromones, which mediate communication within the emitter’s species, and interspecific signals such as kairomones, allomones, and synomones. A kairomone benefits the receiver at a cost to the emitter; an allomone benefits the emitter, often altering the behavior of the recipient; a synomone provides a net benefit to both participants in the interaction.

Examples: Insects commonly use sex pheromones to find mates; plants release volatile blends upon herbivore attack that attract the natural enemies of herbivores; some semiochemicals enable parasitoids to locate hosts. Semochemicals are exploited in pest management and agriculture through pheromone traps and mating disruption strategies.

Researchers study semochemicals using methods such as gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, electroantennography, and behavioral assays, and they examine how environmental factors influence signal production and reception.