Pheromones are chemicals released by organisms that affect the behavior of others of the same species. They are classified into different types depending on their function, such as trail, aggregation, alarm, and sex pheromones. Pheromones are used for purposes like triggering sexual arousal, creating food trails, alerting others to danger, marking territory, and recognition between mother and offspring. They have applications in pest control through trapping insects, and in animal husbandry by detecting when sows are ready to breed. Pheromones are widely used among different organisms from microbes to complex animals.