It’s Still Simple: Signal Plus Response Equals Communication

Abstract

I was fortunate to have been in on the ground floor of insect pheromone research “back in the day” when only a handful of pheromone structures had been identified. During these ensuing 42 years, I was privileged to have been able to witness many advances in our understanding of insect pheromone communication systems. Yet, I have been perplexed by the continued inattention of researchers, both young and old, to the concept of “communication”. With the many advances in analytical techniques that have occurred over these decades, it has become easier to isolate and chemically identify many more compounds from pheromone glands or airborne volatile collections than in earlier times. But it also has become easier to make the mistake of assuming that all of the identified compounds contribute to the behavioral response, i.e., that they all comprise the signal between the sexes that evokes the optimal behavioral response.