attractant
(əˈtræktənt)
[f. attract v. + -ant1.]
That which attracts; a substance used to attract.
| 1926 Jrnl. Econ. Entomology XIX. 546 It soon became evident that if the fundamentals of ‘attractants’ and repellents were to be studied, special apparatus for measuring or recording the responses of insects of these substances must be developed. 1953 Brit. Commonw. Forest Terminol. i. 14 Attractant, a substance attractive to insects, rodents, etc., used in population surveys or in control traps or baits. 1955 Sci. Amer. Aug. 76/3 It is neither an attractant nor a repellent to unconditioned salmon. 1959 Times 9 Jan. 13/2 The attractive scents of female butterflies are produced by scattered gland cells... Other examples are the sexual attractants of cockroaches. |