The Pherobase was developed by Dr. Ashraf El-Sayed, a research scientist at HortResearch in New Zealand, with the primary objective of providing "coverage of the literature published on chemical communication in insects." The Pherobase is intended for use by both scientific and non-scientific communities and currently contains "over 10000 entries, around 3000 molecules, and over 32000 static html pages that make it the world's largest database of behavior modifying chemicals." The site contains multiple Insect indices for such categories as Order, Family A-Z, and Species; References indices such as Discovery by Author, Discovery by Year, and References A-Z; and indices for Compounds, Compounds by Family, and Compounds by Genus. The site also contains a Contribution Form, and number of online forums relating to The Pherobase.