There are incredible mechanisms in nature, especially when it comes to the survival of animals and plants, right? That's why today we're going to tell you how mosquitoes find humans to bite, feed and thus perpetuate its species.
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First, know that so far there are more than 3 thousand species of mosquitoes around the world, however, only a small number have evolved into the specialty of sucking human blood. Also, only female mosquitoes suck blood, because they need it for the production of their eggs.
As for the explanation of how these insects find humans to bite, there are already many studies on this topic. So, so far, the main explanation is that mosquitoes are able to smell human odors, and thus are attracted.
Mosquitoes have a very keen sense of smell, so even if the person's odor is mixed with that of animals or other things in the surrounding environment, they are able to distinguish the scent. Therefore, this smell is practically a beacon that attracts these insects for their next “meal”.
Although many studies have already been conducted with the aim of finding the exact smell that is responsible for attracting mosquitoes, this is still a difficult question to decipher. That's because there are hundreds of chemical compounds mixed together that result in certain odors.
The compounds found in human scent are pretty much the same as those found in animals in general. However, it is the proportions and amounts of these compounds in human odors that are unique and therefore difficult to identify.
An interesting point that has already been discovered is that mosquitoes generally prefer people with blood type O over type A. So far, the reasons for this preference are not known very well, but it is believed that it is also something related to the types of substances exhaled by those who have each blood type.
