marking pheromones

Definition

Semiochemicals deposited by an individual on a substrate or object to denote ownership, status, or resource association, thereby influencing the subsequent behavior of conspecifics or heterospecifics. These pheromones function in territory defense, mate guarding, trail establishment, or resource marking, and differ from trail pheromones in that they typically signal a static location rather than a directional route. Marking pheromones are often lipophilic and persistent, allowing long-term territorial advertisement without the depositor's presence.

Etymology

From English 'marking' (denoting or indicating a location) + 'pheromone' (Greek pherein, to carry + hormon, to excite), coined in chemical ecology to distinguish substrate-borne territorial signals from other pheromone classes.

Example

Male European beewolves (Philanthus triangulum) mark vegetation near their nesting burrows with a cephalic gland secretion containing (Z)-11-eicosen-1-ol; this marking pheromone deters rival males from usurping the burrow and advertises the resident's mating status to females. In social insects, some Polistes paper wasps deposit marking pheromones on nest petioles to reinforce colony identity and suppress worker reproduction.

Synonyms

• territorial pheromones
• substrate-borne pheromones

Related Terms

• trail pheromones
• aggregation pheromones
• Alarm pheromones
• territoriality
• semiochemicals
• scent marking
• Dominance hierarchy
• resource defense polygyny

Usage Notes

Specialists distinguish marking pheromones from trail pheromones by function rather than chemistry: trails guide movement toward or away from a source, whereas marks denote spatial occupancy or ownership without directional information. The term overlaps with 'territorial pheromones' but is broader, encompassing non-territorial marks such as food-source tags or mate-location indicators. In arachnology, marking pheromones are less commonly documented than in insects, though some wandering spiders deposit silk-borne marks. Persistence varies enormously: some marks last hours (volatile components), others months (cuticular hydrocarbons or glandular waxes). The plural form predominates in ecological literature because researchers typically discuss the functional class rather than single compounds.