Do you dread outdoor parties? Do you always carry bug spray with you? Many wonder why wonderful weather has to be spoiled by buzzing mosquitos.
But there also seem to be people who are never bothered by the pesky flying nuisances.
According to medical entomologists, arthropods like mosquitos, ticks, fleas, and horseflies require the protein found in blood to develop eggs.
Only the female mosquito feeds on blood, while males feed on plant nectar for energy.
Since blood-feeding is so important, a very large part of the mosquito's evolution has been focused on ways to find blood sources to feed on.
Mosquitos are the deadliest animal in the world for the pathogens they spread while feeding on blood. They kill hundreds of thousands of people annually, especially children.
Mosquitos use sound, smell, and sight to identify blood sources to make their eggs. At night they usually use their sense of smell to local blood.
Mosquitos are highly sensitive to CO2 and can sense it from a distance of many feet.
While CO2 comes from nonliving sources like vehicles, mosquitos use other cues like movement and breathing to detect living sources.
Mosquitos that are active during daylight hours use vision to identify sources. Also, experts say mosquitos prefer type O blood the most.
Also, those who have higher lactic acid in their skin are attractive.
Many people easily hear and notice mosquitos more than others. When you emit more breath and move around, mosquitos may notice you more.
Pregnant women are also more prone to mosquito bites because of their higher body temperature and higher emission of carbon dioxide.