How do mosquitoes seek targets to burn?

A new study revealed that mosquitoes target certain targets to burn by using a sequence of three signs: smell, then images and finally heat.

Mosquito signs find targets to burn

Biologists recorded the movement of hungry mosquitoes inside a wind tunnel. These insects are immediately attracted to CO2 , which is very similar to human breath. After smelling this gas, they also aimed directly at a black spot. Finally, at shorter distances, the mosquitoes are sucked towards the warmth.

The discovery reinforced previous evidence that odor is a key sign for mosquitoes to discover the next prey. For example, body odor is able to decide how they choose to burn this person instead of others.

However, mosquitoes are particularly good at sniffing CO2, which has a high concentration in the breaths of animals that suck blood, such as humans. Mosquitoes can also head towards the exhaled air, smelling rancid from 50 meters away.

We also know that heat and imaging may be important factors for attracting blood-sucking insects , but new research is the first to clarify the specific role of all three.

"We were able to make a convincing hypothesis about how all these senses work together in mosquitoes to find people," said Dr. Floris van Breugel, head of research from the California Institute of Technology. , emphasized.

The key to tests is to separate different stimuli: odor, image and heat. They are represented by a stream of CO2, a black spot on the duct floor and a heated but obscured glass plate. The team was able to observe the mosquitoes' response to each stimulus.

For example, if the insects are lured with a black spot in an empty wind pipe, they will ignore it. But if the wind pipe contains the flow of CO2, they will sniff out and then rush to the stimulus. Dr. Michael Dickinson, a member of the research team explained, the mosquitoes only syndicate the image characteristics after they detect a smell that refers to the existence of nearby prey. This helps ensure that they do not waste time investigating fake targets such as rocks or trees.

After all, experts have grasped the three-stage strategy of mosquito hunting: From a distance of 10 to 50 meters, they use their sense of smell , especially based on CO2. If stimulated before a certain odor, the mosquitoes will advance to something that has an interesting image within a range of 5 - 15 meters. When within 1 meter of the potential target, they focus on the heat of the body.

The team stressed that mosquito's hunting strategy is very effective and difficult to get rid of. However, we can still avoid the risk of mosquito bites by reducing CO2 in the out breath and confusing the image by blending into a high-contrast dress crowd.