See How Mosquitoes Use Stealth to Steal Your Blood
October 23, 2017—Mosquitoes have a light touch when they take flight, which makes them harder to be noticed by their victims. Researchers from UC Berkeley and the Netherlands' Wageningen University observed super-slow motion footage that provided details in the body movements of mosquitoes, along with similarly-sized fruit flies. Mosquitoes start flapping very slightly sooner than do fruit flies, and at a faster rate. Most of their power for lift-off is therefore coming from their wings. Fruit flies, in contrast, push off more forcefully than mosquitoes with their legs. An animal providing a blood meal is less likely to notice a mosquito's takeoff. That gives extra time for a getaway before a host can swat it down. READ:
How Mosquitoes Use Stealth to Steal Your Blood
You may learn a mosquito is out for your blood ...
only after it's done a dine-and-dash.
How are they so sneaky?
Scientists from UC Berkeley and Wageningen University have part of the answer.
The team took very slow motion footage of the mosquitoes and also fruit flies.
The difference?
Fruit flies push off with their legs ...
creating pressure on the skin.
Mosquitoes lessen that with extra lift from the wings.
They start flapping sooner ...
and beat their wings faster.
High speed gives it that whine.
Mosquitoes' longer legs slow the action, also reducing force.
The species studied can spread malaria.
(Those used didn't have it.)
And co-author Sofia Chang gets street cred for feeding subjects her own blood.
Seeing how mosquitoes take wing could help scientists design traps to fight malaria ...
not to mention, help prevent a backyard nuisance.
Next up: watching mosquitoes land.
