How Do Mosquitoes Find You?

Besides visual cues, female mosquitoes also use smell and temperature to find their next human victim. They are especially attracted to people who are hot, sweaty, and have a strong smell.

The female mosquito needs a blood meal to develop eggs. Unlike male mosquitoes, which only eat nectar, females also bite to nourish their eggs. They do this by sucking blood from the body. A blood meal provides them with the proteins they need for reproduction.

Some mosquito species are specifically attracted to humans and only bite them. Aegypti mosquitoes, for example, have a strong preference for biting humans. They are attracted to people with a distinctive odor, which is produced by the bacterium Brevibacterium linens on the feet.

Carbon dioxide is a universal attractant for mosquitoes. We produce carbon dioxide gas when we exhale, and other animals produce it, too. When you are warmer, you release more carbon dioxide, which is attractive to mosquitoes. Aegypti mosquitoes can detect the smell of CO2 from 30 feet away.

Mosquitoes have two compound eyes, which enable them to see in many directions at once. They also have an elongated, flexible mouthpart called the proboscis. It retracts like a hypodermic needle, but can also go around individual cells. Its hair-like sensors near its mouths are used to detect odor, temperature, and moisture.

These senses are not perfect and can be used to compensate for poor vision. A normal human’s visual sensitivity is limited to blue and red, while a mosquito can see hundreds of different colors.

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