People can train mosquitoes to stay away from their skins by constantly swatting them away, a recent study said.
This is the first study of its kind to reveal how mosquitoes behave by testing between 2,700 and 3,000 of the pesky insects, USA Today reports. Previous research has shown that mosquitoes are able to learn certain behaviors, and this study further explores how they learn to bite some people more than others.
Researchers discovered that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, also known as the yellow fever mosquitoes, recognize humans by their odors, and can link those smells to past hostile interactions they had, such as flicking them away, for at least 24 hours.
Chloé Lahondere, research assistant professor of biochemistry in Virginia Tech,
Defending yourself against mosquitoes is helpful, whether or not you manage to hit the mosquito.
This means swatting could be an effective means to repel mosquitoes.
Clément Vinauger, an assistant professor of biochemistry in Virginia Tech, said, “Understanding these mechanisms of mosquito learning and preferences may provide new tools for mosquito control. For example, we could target mosquitoes’ ability to learn and either impair it or exploit it to our advantage.”
Experiments found that mosquitoes that were modified to lack dopamine receptors did not learn the smells of humans. Lahondere said, “For example, we could target mosquitoes’ ability to learn and either impair it or exploit it to our advantage.”
But while the results of this research are promising when it comes to keeping the insects at bay, not all mosquitoes respond accordingly, said Jeffrey Riffell, a University of Washington neuroecologist. Riffell was not involved in the study, but conducted a similar research. He said their team could not teach mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus to stay away from humans, swatting or no swatting.
The study was published in the journal Current Biology.
