This cite is a great article. Short, but very full of information. Congratulations to the Staff Reporter Doug
Why do mosquitoes pick and choose ??
When I and others sit in a park , they will hover above my head and have a distinct preference for me… noticed this many times :smack: :smack:
Bwah? I thought it was carbon dioxide? Did I miss a Nature memo?
Frogs can control their body temperature, so presumably they don’t always emit a mammal-type infrared profile. Some mosquitoes prey on frogs. If the frog isn’t visible in infrared at the moment a mosquito is looking for a frog to bite, how does the mosquito find it?
Thought it was CO2, actually.
[QUOTE=indian]
Why do mosquitoes pick and choose ??
When I and others sit in a park , they will hover above my head and have a distinct preference for me.. noticed this many times :smack: :smack:
[/QUOTE]
Not to be overly facetious, but I tend to attribute this to a combination of three distinct factors. Selective perception, experiential familiarity with bug spray (repellents) and perfumes (attractants), and a genetic predisposition toward (or away from) vociferous discussion of the issue.
However, if I may speculate:
from the article in question:
My experience has been that different people have a pretty wide range of temperature tolerance. Some seem to be constantly shedding or adding layers while others wear the same clothes almost year round.
I’m guessing there could be a similar range of infrared emissions from person to person. Some people look like an oversize, multi-colored target with bright, red bulls-eyes covering their bodies and others just don’t put out.
Just a WAG.
An all around good column, Doug. I especially liked the information about the rain beetle. One interesting fact Doug left out is that the females do not fly at all.
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose]
Bwah? I thought it was carbon dioxide? Did I miss a Nature memo?
Frogs can control their body temperature, so presumably they don’t always emit a mammal-type infrared profile. Some mosquitoes prey on frogs. If the frog isn’t visible in infrared at the moment a mosquito is looking for a frog to bite, how does the mosquito find it?
Thought it was CO2, actually.
[/QUOTE]
Actually, they current knowledge is that female mosquitos use at least three different prey detection systems:
- they have carbon dioxide receptors
- they can detect certain particles present in sweat (4-methylphenol, to name one, although possibly there are others)
- finally, close to the victim, they indeed use infrared
This is reason why it’s so hard to make 100% effective mosquito traps and repellents. Also note, that there are thousands of different species of mosquitos. You never know what they find appetizing in you 
Cool, thanks. 
Ignorance fought.
I remember hearing somewhere that mosquitos didn’t like the way vitamin B-12 smelled, and if you took a B complex vitamin pill a few hours before going out, that it would work as sort of a repellent. I never tried it myself, and always wondered if there was any proof that it actually worked.