ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Exopheromone

An exopheromone is like a special smell that can make animals feel a certain way or do something specific.

For example, let's pretend you have a pet dog named Max. You know that when you take Max for a walk, he gets really excited when he smells other dogs' pee. This is because the other dogs' pee has exopheromones in it that tell Max things like: "This is another dog's territory" or "This dog is in heat."

Another example is when a caterpillar wants to turn into a butterfly, it releases exopheromones to attract other caterpillars. The other caterpillars smell the exopheromones and come to join the group. When they are all together, they can all turn into beautiful butterflies at the same time.

So, think of exopheromones as a special smell that helps animals communicate with each other and do certain things. It's like a secret code that only they can understand!