- Mosquitoes use combined cues like visual signals and carbon dioxide to locate humans
- Researchers tracked mosquitoes using 3D infrared cameras and analyzed 20 million data points
- Each mosquito independently responds to cues, not by following others like in a crowd
Mosquitoes seem to have a sixth sense when it comes to finding their next meal, and it's not just about luck. A group of scientists have found how mosquitoes decide where to fly, and how they plan to attack. The researchers from Georgia Tech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tracked hundreds of mosquitoes and analysed 20 million data points, and found that these pesky insects use a combination of cues to locate and attack humans.
The researchers developed a mathematical model that predicts how female mosquitoes fly toward people with the intention to feed. The researchers used 3D infrared cameras to observe how the insects moved around objects using visual signals and carbon dioxide. The study was centred around female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, also called yellow fever mosquitoes.
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The study was conducted on a human subject in a controlled chamber, and the researchers changed his clothing colours. They then recorded how mosquitoes flew around that human.
As per findings published in Science Advances, each mosquito responds independently to environmental cues. They do not gather because they follow one another; in fact, they just happen to be at the same place at the same time.
"It's like a crowded bar," David Hu, a professor at Georgia Tech's George W Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Biological Sciences, said.
"Customers aren't there because they followed each other into the bar. They're attracted by the same cues: drinks, music, and the atmosphere. The same is true of mosquitoes. Rather than following the leader, the insect follows the signals and happens to arrive at the same spot as the others. They're good copies of each other."
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The researchers conducted three experiments, with variations in visual cues and carbon dioxide.
"Previous studies had shown that visual cues and carbon dioxide attract mosquitoes. But we didn't know how they put those cues together to determine where to fly," said Christopher Zuo, who conducted the study as a Georgia Tech master's student.
"They're like little robots. We just had to figure out their rules."
With the help of findings, the researchers hope that better pest control can be achieved. Especially when it comes to mosquitoes that transmit diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, and Zika, which cause more than 700,000 deaths every year.
