Human skin also emits an attractive colored signal. Human skin, regardless of pigmentation, emits a red-orange “signal” to mosquitoes, according to researchers.
When they [mosquitos] They smell specific compounds, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) from our breath, this smell stimulates the eyes to look for specific colors and other visual patterns, which are associated with a potential host, and move towards them.
Jeffrey Riffell, professor at the University of Washington
Strategy for finding hosts. These discoveries help scientists explain how mosquitoes find hosts. And knowing which colors attract them and which don’t can help you design better repellents, traps, and other methods to keep them away.
How was the experiment
Different visual and olfactory stimuli. The experiments were carried out with female mosquitoes Aedes aegypti — capable of transmitting dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya and zika. The choice occurred because only females suck blood and transmit dengue. They were exposed to different types of visual and olfactory stimuli.
Individual tracking. Mosquitoes were tracked individually in miniature testing chambers. Specific odors were sprayed in these locations, in addition to presenting different types of visual patterns, such as a colored dot or a human hand.
