Blog Post# 3

     Have you ever wondered how out of all the things in nature a mosquito is strangely drawn to you? Well this is no coincidence because whenever a mosquito needs a blood meal it can pick up on certain chemicals in our sweat using an olfactory sensor. It is basically capable of detecting the scent of our smelly sweat and following it. Now it makes sense why they are so drawn to humans on a hot summer day. The ability to do this comes from a special receptor called “Ir8A” found on the antennae of the female mosquito that detects lactic acid that is commonly present in human sweat. While this ability allows for the mosquito to get within close proximity of a human, the mosquito uses thermal detection to actually land on its prey. The range of effectiveness of this olfactory receptor is around 30 feet. This is one of the many ways that mosquitos have evolved to attack us. Now there’s no need to fear because since we are aware of the specific receptor, scientists are actually working on a perfume or deodorant that we can use to repel the mosquitos by blocking this receptor. Though there will still be the thermal detection to worry about but that’s not as accurate at pointing out humans. Research on this ability might allow us to find a large-scale scent blocker that can be utilized to clear a certain area of these pesky pests. 

Citations:

• “NPR Choice Page”. Org, 2020, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/28/706838786/how-mosquitoes-sniff-out-human-sweat-to-find-us.

• “Mosquitoes Detect Human Sweat By Sniffing For Volatile Acids”. Chemical & Engineering News, 2020, https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/biochemistry/Mosquitoes-detect-human-sweat-sniffing/97/web/2019/03.

Image citation:  Tauxe, Genevieve M., et al. “Targeting a Dual Detector of Skin and CO2 to Modify Mosquito Host Seeking.” Cell, Cell Press, 5 Dec. 2013, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867413014268.

Blog post 2

 While the mosquito is similar to other “flies” in most of its anatomy, there are a few special features that set it apart. The first being veins that they have on their wings and the second is the proboscis which is the structure that represents the “mouth” of the mosquito. The proboscis contains six microtubules that are used to suck the blood out of their victims.  Two of the tubules are maxillae which help the mosquito to pierce through our skin kind of like a saw into our skin. Then after the sawing comes the mandibles which are like clamps to hold the pesky skin apart while the fifth tubule called a “labum” is used to pierce the blood vessel. The labum is actually super useful to them as it serves multiple purposes one being that it acts as a straw to suck blood and that it has sensors like a GPS to find and track our blood vessels. The final tubule is the hypo thorax which excretes the mosquito saliva that keeps our blood from clotting in their straw. The bad news for us is that this saliva is actually what causes us irritation and harmful diseases that we are familiar with. It’s amazing how well adapted for sucking blood the mosquito is, which is very important because the blood from you actually allows the female mosquitos to develop eggs and mature. I bet you never thought of the fact you might be helping a family of mosquitos grow. Evolutionary the proboscis is present in other creatures such as moths and adult butterflies, mostly for plant nectar feeding but mosquitos are the only insects to have such a complicated structure and use their proboscis to feed on blood. They are the villain that gives good insects like butterflies a bad name but they did help with research in hypodermic needles so that is a plus.

Citations: “NPR Choice Page”. Npr.Org, 2017, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/06/07/480653821/watch-mosquitoes-use-6-needles-to-suck-your-blood.

This image shows a close up of the mosquito proboscis, see if you can identify which tubule is which using my description. The citation for this image is present in its alt text. 

Blog post 1

The Culicidae commonly referred to as the “mosquito” is probably the closest thing to a vampire we have if a vampire gave you malaria and a handful of other viruses. There is a plentiful amount of information regarding the species due to its impact on our lives. It’s funny that whenever I heard of these insects it was always in association to some kind of disease. Well to be fair it is an accurate association considering mosquitos are known to be prolific carriers of disease. They are well known for their role in the outbreak of malaria in parts of Africa. These creatures tend to dwell in swamp areas for the moisture rich environment. A few fun facts about them are that mosquito is spanish for “little fly” and that only the females actually bite. 

Citations: “Mosquito”. En.Wikipedia.Org, 2014, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito.

“Mosquito Facts”. Mega-Catch™, 2020, https://www.megacatch.com/mosquito-faqs/mosquito-facts.html.