Mosquitoes learn to recognize certain odors in an aversion.

Most people certainly don't think mosquitoes are particularly good at learning.
but recently researchers have found that mosquitoes can actually quickly learn to recognize and remember the smell of the person who makes it unpleasant, and link the smell to the mechanical vibrations that make them annoying, such as a fly-slapping blow.
, they will avoid the smell next time.
papers have recently been published in the journal Current Biology. "Once mosquitoes learn to recognize certain odors in a distasteful way, they react in disgust, just as they do with mosquito repellents, "
.
," said Jeffrey Riffell of the University of Washington, who was involved in the study.
people already know that mosquitoes are more likely to bite some people than to bite randomly.
they also change hosts seasonally, such as in birds in summer, and in mammals and birds in other seasons.
Riffell and colleagues studied how learning affects mosquito bite preferences.
first, the researchers experimented with mosquitoes to learn to associate the smell of a particular person or animal with unpleasant mechanical shocks and vibrations.
results, the insects quickly learned the link between host odor and mechanical vibration, and used the information to determine the direction of flight. After
, the researchers used a Y-type maze to assess the trained mosquitoes.
results showed that mosquitoes did not choose the smell to make them "unpleasant" people, but more to bite the control group target.
from bees to humans, many animals rely on dopamine in the brain.
further studies have shown that mood-related dopamine also plays a key role in mosquito aversion learning, and genetically modified mosquitoes that lack dopamine receptors lose their ability to learn.
researchers say the findings could be important for mosquitocontrol to control and curb the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.
"By understanding how mosquitoes determine what kind of people they act to, we can better understand how mosquito genes and nerves work, which can help develop more effective mosquito control tools."
," Riffell said.
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