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.
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.
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.