It turns out that mosquitoes can be vindictive
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Mosquitoes have the ability to remember, like the smell of specific people, and the circumstances under which "acquaintance" occurred.
In the fight against mosquitoes, we often use all sorts of means - from electric fumigators, ointments and fragrant candles to looking for insects and getting rid of them "by hand". A slipper, a newspaper, or just a palm can be used. Someone immediately gets rid of the "bloodsucker", while someone searches for a mosquito takes more than one hour.
But, as it turned out, even spanking on mosquitoes "idle" can greatly frighten bloodsuckers. This conclusion was reached by specialists representing the University of Washington (Seattle). Scientists have discovered that mosquitoes have the ability to remember circumstances and associate them with a certain human fragrance. In case the circumstances were dangerous for insects, then in future they will "stay away" from the corresponding smell.
The following experiment was carried out by scientists. Female yellow fever mosquitoes "acquainted" with different aromatic compositions - in particular, with individual fragrances of the human body. When presented with some flavors, experts included unpleasant mechanical twitching and vibration for insects. Such fluctuations are created, for example, with the clapping of hands or blows against the wall. After 24 hours, the insects were sent to a confined space, where mosquitoes had to make a choice: to fly to the left, or to the right. On the one hand, to the insects came the aroma associated with them with unpleasant mechanical fluctuations. It's amazing, but in all cases mosquitoes went to the opposite direction without hesitation. Therefore, insects felt a potential danger and did everything to avoid it - in spite of the fact that the "delicious" human aroma was heard.
Scientists also determined that the mosquito brain is able to "understand" in the fragrances. For mosquitoes developed a kind of flight simulator: insects created an illusion of flight, during which they felt different smells. At the same time, scientists controlled the behavior of certain groups of nerve cells in the brain.
As was discovered, dopamine was of great importance in insects. Distinguish flavors and identify them helped specific dopamine-dependent chains of neurons. And this was related to both unpleasant memories and positive ones. Because of the variety of human fragrances, mosquitoes are able to remember who is dangerous to them, and who, on the contrary, is of interest.
While the specialist can not answer the question, which aromatic features can attract insects. Even the aroma of one person is able to include more than four hundred components. Probably, not all aromatic components are essential for insects. However, mosquitoes clearly know how to separate a "safe" person from "dangerous", eventually choosing someone who will not make a chase with a newspaper in his hand.
More details about the experiment can be read on the pages of Current Biology.