During their study, titled the Mosquito Magnet Trial, the team employed a rather intriguing approach to examine the behavior of these pests.
The Most Dangerous Creatures on Earth
According to scientific data, mosquitoes are the deadliest animals on the planet, as they transmit dangerous diseases such as dengue fever, West Nile virus, Zika virus, and malaria. Each year, these bloodsuckers cause approximately 2.7 million deaths, while millions more struggle with severe symptoms from pathogens transmitted by mosquitoes.
Controlling mosquito populations and the diseases they spread is vital for public health. Equally important is understanding who tends to be the most frequent targets for these pests.
Entomologists have long known that one of the first markers for bloodsuckers hunting for prey is the carbon dioxide exhaled by humans. There are also many other sensory signals that alert mosquitoes to attractive blood. Previous studies have shown that olfactory cues are particularly reliable indicators for these insects.
What Did the New Study Reveal?
A team of biologists led by Felix Hall set out to determine which biological and sensory factors most excite a mosquito’s appetite. However, instead of inviting volunteers to a university lab, the researchers visited a place where physiological responses are significantly heightened: the outdoor music festival Lowlands. This annual event takes place 68 kilometers east of Amsterdam, as reported by Popular Science.
During the music festival, Hall and his colleagues set up a temporary lab inside interconnected shipping containers. The team asked festival-goers to fill out a questionnaire about their hygiene, diet, and lifestyle during the event.
About 500 music lovers voluntarily agreed not only to answer the researchers’ questions but also to place their arms into a special box teeming with hungry mosquitoes. Fortunately, participants had no reason to fear being bitten, as the device was designed so that while the mosquitoes could sense human scent, they couldn’t reach the skin to pierce it with their sharp proboscis. Biologists recorded the mosquitoes’ reactions to people as well as to a sugar feeder located on the opposite side of the box. After analyzing the collected data, the researchers identified which individuals the insects preferred.
It turned out that mosquitoes were particularly attracted to people who were enjoying themselves. Specifically, those who had consumed and engaged in the night before the experiment were about 1.35 times more appealing to the bloodsuckers than their more sober counterparts who abstained from intimacy. Additionally, mosquitoes were less likely to respond to an arm that had recently been washed and/or had sunscreen applied.
The Mosquito Magnet Trial is currently the largest study of its kind. However, the biologists acknowledged that the experiment took place under “loosely controlled conditions,” with a significant portion of participants belonging to a specific category of “festival lovers.”
Regardless, the researchers concluded: “Mosquitoes have a weakness for hedonists.”
Photo: Openverse