Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Smelling sweet makes mosquitoes skeet

It seems that mosquitoes don't like sweeter smells when hunting for blood.

Now scientists have discovered key differences in the body odours produced by people who are more prone to insect bites compared to those who seem resistant – they have lower levels of fruity smelling compounds in their sweat.

This would make a lot of sense based on the following:

Mosquitoes are nectar feeders, but the females also feed on blood to provide energy and proteins needed to develop eggs.

If you are a female mosquito looking for a drop or two of blood for your developing brood, you would tend to avoid things that smell like fruit.

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