5 ms·

I think for some of us they literally don’t even bite anymore. They certainly have preferences in blood type. I also have super visible veins as a relatively th

I think for some of us they literally don’t even bite anymore. They certainly have preferences in blood type. I also have super visible veins as a relatively thin athletic person, yet they just seem to have no interest in what’s on the menu. It’s quite a luxury as someone who spends lots of time on trails. But I also feel somehow offended. What’s so bad about MY blood?

vmception 5y ago
I believe they all follow trails of your breath, which is why they can be reliably found above your bed when inside So its likely about how that smells Or other trails toward you, while they probably would enjoy your blood in actuality even if they think they’re detecting something related to how the meal would taste or its nutrition levels by proxy Let me know what you all know!
- ashtonkem 5y ago
  > So its likely about how that smells I thought the theory was that they follow the CO2 we exhale.
  - vmception 5y ago
    Yes thats the one, what word would you like to use for that sensory molecule detection There is still some difference in who they choose to follow or act upon so I’m grasping for where that difference is. Could be something alongside the CO2
    - ashtonkem 5y ago
      Humans exhale all kinds of stuff aside from just CO2, including moisture and other metabolic byproducts depending on what you’re eating. Probably some bacterial metabolic products from our mouths too. I guess I’m less into the semantic difference between “smell” and “detect” and more whether it’s the CO2 they’re following or something else we exhale regularly.
      - vmception 5y ago
        Yeah I’m curious too, I think thats the right direction to research
ashtonkem 5y ago
Oh, that’s an interesting observation I’ve never realized until you pointed it out. I’ve always been the target of mosquitos more than anyone else I know, but it seems to get worse the fitter I am. Now that I’m a bit pudgy and out of shape, I haven’t had anywhere near as many bites. But, to be fair for me being fit and being in the regions where mosquitos exist en masse is a related phenomenon. Out of shape me spends less time on trails than fit me.
hackernewds 5y ago
It's possible you're getting bit but not seeing the symptoms afterwards
refurb 5y ago
They certainly have preferences in blood type. How would they know your blood type before biting you?
- samizdat311 5y ago
  The idea one of the preceding comments seemed to imply was that they sample a bit first. > I felt it go into my skin and watched it suck for a bit, but it didn't get particularly engorged on it. No mark the next day. So it might follow that with one resistant (R) and one non-resistant person (NR) exposed to a few dozen mosquitoes, NR will end up with lots of visible bites while R will be relatively unscathed - even though the mosquitoes might have sampled them each equally. I know too that some mammals (e.g. mice) will sample a small amount of food (e.g. rodent poison), and then return later to try more if the food hasn't had ill effects. I'm not sure that mosquitoes have anything like a memory capacity for this, but maybe something similar mediated via pheromones could be happening. (And something like pheromones could also signal to other mosquitoes that there's good eatin' to be had).

vmception 5y ago

I believe they all follow trails of your breath, which is why they can be reliably found above your bed when inside So its likely about how that smells Or other trails toward you, while they probably would enjoy your blood in actuality even if they think they’re detecting something related to how the meal would taste or its nutrition levels by proxy Let me know what you all know!

ashtonkem 5y ago
> So its likely about how that smells I thought the theory was that they follow the CO2 we exhale.
- vmception 5y ago
  Yes thats the one, what word would you like to use for that sensory molecule detection There is still some difference in who they choose to follow or act upon so I’m grasping for where that difference is. Could be something alongside the CO2
  - ashtonkem 5y ago
    Humans exhale all kinds of stuff aside from just CO2, including moisture and other metabolic byproducts depending on what you’re eating. Probably some bacterial metabolic products from our mouths too. I guess I’m less into the semantic difference between “smell” and “detect” and more whether it’s the CO2 they’re following or something else we exhale regularly.
    - vmception 5y ago
      Yeah I’m curious too, I think thats the right direction to research

ashtonkem 5y ago

Oh, that’s an interesting observation I’ve never realized until you pointed it out. I’ve always been the target of mosquitos more than anyone else I know, but it seems to get worse the fitter I am. Now that I’m a bit pudgy and out of shape, I haven’t had anywhere near as many bites. But, to be fair for me being fit and being in the regions where mosquitos exist en masse is a related phenomenon. Out of shape me spends less time on trails than fit me.

hackernewds 5y ago

It's possible you're getting bit but not seeing the symptoms afterwards

refurb 5y ago

They certainly have preferences in blood type. How would they know your blood type before biting you?

samizdat311 5y ago
The idea one of the preceding comments seemed to imply was that they sample a bit first. > I felt it go into my skin and watched it suck for a bit, but it didn't get particularly engorged on it. No mark the next day. So it might follow that with one resistant (R) and one non-resistant person (NR) exposed to a few dozen mosquitoes, NR will end up with lots of visible bites while R will be relatively unscathed - even though the mosquitoes might have sampled them each equally. I know too that some mammals (e.g. mice) will sample a small amount of food (e.g. rodent poison), and then return later to try more if the food hasn't had ill effects. I'm not sure that mosquitoes have anything like a memory capacity for this, but maybe something similar mediated via pheromones could be happening. (And something like pheromones could also signal to other mosquitoes that there's good eatin' to be had).