The Pheromones and Hormones are the chemical substances which are totally different in their functions. This article mainly concentrates on communicating the differences between pheromones and hormones.
PHEROMONES
The pheromones can be defined as a chemical substance which is produced by animals and insects to bring the behavioral changes in another animal or insect of a same species. Pheromones can also be called as ‘behavior-altering’ agents. Pheromones acts outside of the body of the animals are insects. Pheromones mainly trigger or impact the sexual behavior of the other animals or insects of the same species.
HORMONES
Hormones are defined as the chemical substances secretary by the endocrine system which consists of group of glands. The hormones help in the regulation of metabolism and energy balance. Hormones produced by endocrine system regulate certain activities of the immune system. There are many glands in the endocrine system, some of them are pituitary gland, hypothalamus, thyroid gland, adrenal gland, ovaries, testis, pancreas, etc.
DIFFERENCES TABLE
| PHEROMONES | HORMONES |
|---|---|
| Pheromones are special chemicals secreted by the insects like honeybee, etc. | Hormones are chemical substances secreted by the big animals and humans from the endocrine glands. |
| SECRETED BY | |
| Pheromones are secreted by the female insects during the mating season for the purpose of sexual reproduction. | The endocrine glands, testis and ovaries secrete special hormones which help in sexual reproduction. |
| IMPORTANCE | |
| The pheromones acts as messengers to attract the male insect towards the female thus aid in reproduction. | The hormones secreted by the gonads (ovaries and testis) help in development of the secondary sexual characters which in turn help for sexual reproduction. |
| NATURE | |
| The pheromones act outside of the body of the animal or insect secreting it. | The hormones act inside of the body of the animal or human being secreting it. |
| FUNCTION | |
| The pheromones are single type and they don't do many functions in the body of animals are insects. | The hormones are of various types like, sexual hormones, growth hormones, feel-good hormones, etc, to help the functioning of the body. |
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it is clear that the pheromones and hormones are entirely different in their purpose and functioning. The hormones are secreted by the Endocrine glands and the branch of science that deals with the study of structure and function of endocrine glands is called as endocrinology.
