Definition of kairomone in English:

noun

• A chemical substance emitted by an organism and detected by another of a different species which gains advantage from this, e.g. a parasite seeking a host.

  Example sentences

  • ‘Unlike a pheromone, which involves only one species, kairomones are chemicals emitted by one species - in this case pears - that attract and benefit another, such as codling moths.’
  • ‘Thus, natural selection should favor parasitoids that utilize as kairomones only the chemicals that uniquely and reliably identify potential hosts.’
  • ‘According to Torr, ‘Tsetse use host kairomones to locate their hosts by a process termed ‘odour-mediated upwind anemotaxis’.’
  • ‘‘There are a lot of known kairomones, but most are worthless for commercial applications to monitor insects under field conditions,’ Henrick says.’
  • ‘But for some specialist insects, cyanide and cyanogenic compounds can serve as phagostimulants and kairomones.’