We can all agree that mosquitos are annoying creatures. They harass us so much and we always run into them especially during the summer. Would you like to be able to avoid them completely? Unfortunately, that will be very hard to do unless you move to a consistently cold location. Mosquitos are able to detect their target from long distances. How? Just by us breathing out, we emit CO2 (carbon dioxide) which enhances a mosquitos ability to detect us/any other vertebrate. Previous research has found that mosquitos are able to detect CO2 from far distances but there is a question of how other senses such as vision is assisting mosquitos with finding hosts.
In a study conducted by Barredo et al (2022). The researchers explored whether or not mosquito visual tracking improved in the presence of CO2. The researchers explored this by having the mosquitos tethered in a custom box that was shooting CO2 into the box. The researchers used two tests to learn about how tracking is affected with the presence of CO2. The researchers used a star-field test which is just a ton of dots that were put against the wall of the box to measure course correction and were used to examine tracking ability. The second test was a vertical bar test, this test would consist of a bar that would move up and down and be used to determine the target fixation of the mosquitos. In both the star field and bar test, the researchers would have CO2 being released into the box and they were able to keep a consistent amount that they normally experience (2200-2800 ppm) using a meter that is in the box. The researchers concluded that CO2 improved the tracking abilities of the mosquitos for the bar test. The researchers were not able to conclude the same results for the star field test.
The researchers also wanted to look into how blood-fed females compared to females that have not been blood fed. The researchers would feed the females three days before undergoing the treatment. The researchers found that the blood-fed females were not tracking as well. The researchers hypothesize that it can be because the females who had fed are focused on laying their eggs on water rather than feeding which could explain why the female mosquitos did not track as well. The researchers said that further research needs to be done on fed females and tracking.
Learning this information about mosquitos being able to visually track us due to CO2 might make you more scared but just know that it also helps us understand how mosquitos work. Information like fed females being less willing to pursue potential hosts could serve as a solution to getting rid of mosquitos but further investigation needs to be done before a solution can be reached. More research on the topic still needs to be done and maybe there will be a solution to the mosquito problem.
