“For the mosquito, the swat of a goat tail or human hand could lead to its death, and it would thus be advantageous for the mosquito to learn from these past experiences.”ĭiseases spread by mosquitoes kill millions of people every year. But if the goats are sedated and unable to move, they receive 15 times more insect bites than nearby, unsedated goats,” Riffell said. “ Cattle and goats flick their tails to swat biting insects. Other biting insects have shown a preference for hosts that do not defend themselves. But Riffell said little is known about how learning influences the biting preferences of insects like mosquitoes that feed on blood. Scientists have known that insects as diverse as bees and moths can learn. “Essentially, Pavlov's mosquitoes,” Riffell told Infectious Disease News. Armed with this knowledge, mosquitoes will seek out another target. Riffell, PhD, associate professor of biology at the University of Washington, the mosquitoes showed an aversion to human scent akin to how they react to DEET, an effective insect repellent. Once they learned this association, according to Jeffrey A. In laboratory experiments, researchers found that mosquitoes quickly learned to associate the scent of individual humans with an unpleasant mechanical shock that simulated a vibration on their skin that occurs when humans attempt to swat a mosquito but miss. One swat may be enough, researchers said, and the findings may have implications for mosquito control efforts. When it comes to keeping mosquitoes away, swatting may have the same effect as the best insect repellents.
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