Why some people are mosquito magnets while others get away unbitten
Some mosquitoes really are picky eaters. They will not just stick their proboscis into any old human. We know this anecdotally, with some people claiming they are always bitten while others are completely ignored, though we don't really know why.
New research published in the journal iScience may have answers to the mystery of why some people are mosquito magnets while others are not. Scientists found that each mosquito species has a unique preference for specific human scents. A team from Florida International University recruited 119 volunteers to test their attractiveness to three mosquito species: Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus.
The researchers analyzed the chemical makeup of each participant's skin odors using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and identified distinct bacterial communities living on their skin. They discovered that Aedes aegypti showed a slight preference for male participants, while Aedes albopictus was attracted to people carrying ketones.
Culex quinquefasciatus was less attracted to people with higher levels of certain cyclic alcohols and monoterpenes. Three types of skin microbes were found to be preferred by all three insect species. The study suggests that mosquito attraction varies by species and is not a universal "mosquito magnet" status.
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