Why are mosquitoes more attracted to some people than others

Written By رنا السيلاوي on 2021/06/01

This article was written originally in Arabic and is translated using a 3rd party automated service. ArabiaWeather is not responsible for any grammatical errors whatsoever.

Weather of Arabia - Some people may sit in the evening outside all summer days and not suffer from mosquito bites, while others suffer from mosquito bites despite their keenness to avoid them as much as possible, so why are blood-sucking mosquitoes attracted to some people and not others?

 

 

How do blood-sucking mosquitoes find their victims?

It mostly has to do with the invisible chemical landscape of the air around us. Mosquitoes take advantage of this spectacle by using their own behaviors and sensors to find victims by tracking minute chemical traces from their bodies.

 

Mosquitoes in particular rely on carbon dioxide to find their victims. When we breathe in and exhale carbon dioxide, it does not immediately mix with the air. It temporarily remains in columns that mosquitoes track like breadcrumbs.

 

Why do mosquitoes make a noisy sound when approaching human ears?

 

Mosquitoes begin orienting themselves toward these columns of carbon dioxide and continue to fly upwind because that's where they sense increased focus, and mosquitoes can spot targets from up to 164 feet (50 meters) away.

 

 

The factors that mosquitoes rely on in determining the appropriate victim

When mosquitoes get close to a target by about 3 feet (1 m), they are able to determine whether the target is a suitable person or not. The mosquitoes use taste sensors on their feet to determine if a human, or any animal, is carrying suitable blood for a nutritious blood meal.

 

Some studies believe that blood type (O) is preferred by mosquitoes, but experts have not found any convincing research linking blood type and attractions in mosquitoes. Instead, experts believe that other factors, such as genetics and even a person's diet, play a bigger role in how "appetite" a mosquito is for a person.

 

Mosquitoes take into account a lot of factors that vary from person to person, including skin temperature, the presence of water vapor, and color.

 

Scientists believe that the most important factors that mosquitoes rely on when choosing a person as a victim are the chemical compounds produced by colonies of bacteria that live naturally on the skin. The bacteria convert our sweat gland secretions into volatile compounds that are transported through the air to the olfactory system on the mosquito's head. .

 

These chemical compounds are complex, including over 300 different compounds, and they vary from person to person based on genetic diversity and the environment. Even the proportions of chemicals made by microbes on the skin can differ between father and son in the same household. Also, the microbial colonies that live on the skin can vary over time in the same person, especially if that person is sick.

 

For example, people with a greater diversity of skin microbes receive fewer mosquito bites than people with a less diverse skin microbiota. The subtle differences in the composition of the chemical compounds produced by these microbes could explain the large differences in the number of bites each person receives.

 

In addition to the above, mosquitoes love the color black, so consider wearing lighter clothes to reduce mosquito bites in the summer.

 

What colors of clothing attract mosquitoes and expose you to bites more?

This article was written originally in Arabic and is translated using a 3rd party automated service. ArabiaWeather is not responsible for any grammatical errors whatsoever.


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