It has been discovered over the years that mosquitoes rely on more a single cue to track down their hosts. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have discovered another way that mosquitoes locate humans, as reported in a recent study that was published in the journal Nature. Infrared radiation (IR) from the temperature of the human skin combined with human odour and CO2 doubled the host-seeking behaviour of the mosquitoes. Aedes aegypti, the mosquito under investigation, is known to transmit viruses that cause about 100,000,000 cases of dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and other illnesses annually. The heat from human bodies, which may produce infrared radiation, strikes a specific neurone in mosquitoes, triggering their heat-sensing capabilities, according to the research. The study also discovered that mosquitoes’ capacity to find a host is not enhanced by a single cue (IR). It is only in conjunction with other indicators, such as high CO2 and human odour, that IR becomes effective.
Find more about the study from the reference
Chandel, A., DeBeaubien, N.A., Ganguly, A. et al. Thermal infrared directs host-seeking behaviour in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Nature, 2024 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07848-5
