Mosquito's

[Miss Wiggle]

Random question for anyone who knows a bit about animals.

why do mosquito's attack some people and not others? there are different species of mosquito as well and they seem to go for different people, what makes them want to go for you as opposed to someone sat next to you or whatever??

i find it a bit odd, i've never been bitten by mosquito's in my life until a few years ago, I'd gone for a walk around a lake on a nice summers evening with an ex of mine, had on cropped jeans and sandals and they totally butchered my ankles, literally had a 2" thick band of red angry bites around each ankle, it was awful. But since then I've never once been bitten.

Then recently we went on holiday and my other half usually gets 1/2 bites but nothing too serious but he was getting attacked by them everytime we left the hotel in the evenings, sprayed loads of the repellent citronella spray and stuff but nothing made a difference they just got him non stop.

find it really wierd how they seem to pick and choose, can anyone explain why this happens?

 

[Helen G]

Interesting question! Don't really know myself, but it could be to do with taste (ie blood group, diet etc) or whether someone wears perfume/aftershave.

Just a few thoughts.

 

[waterdrop]

IIR, I believe only female mosquitos bite and they are are attracted by a combination of 2 things (among others): First they are attracted by carbon dioxide (CO2) as are most insects, this being the most common way they find mammals (our breath.) Second, and more the main thing with mosquito selection of individuals at a given moment with given mammals, they go for skin heat - they will go for the warmer surface they can find. If you were hiking around a lake, those leg muscles might have worked and needed more oxygen, causing blood vessels in the skin to expand from the extra blood pressure, displaying more surface heat to help the female mosquito choose you as a better candidate for a blood meal!

Anyway, somewhat memory speculation on my part...

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Nick16]

aftershave helps to reduce bites i heard, especially if its a citrus type one. citronella is the best!