Researchers discovered a new behavior among mosquitoes:
, highlighting an overlooked challenge in fighting the spread of diseases and parasites like malaria, which has grownThe body of a female mosquito fills up as she sucks blood from a photographer's hand at EvergladesResearchers studied two mosquito species that are common in tropical and subtropical areas around the world: Culex quinquefasciastus—which spreads avian malaria, Zika virus and West Nile virus—and Aedes aegypti—which spreads dengue fever and yellow fever.
Mosquitoes learned to associate the smell of pesticide with the negative effects of pesticide contact, and were willing to forgo blood-feeding to avoid landing in an area that smelled of pesticide, researchers said. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes conditioned to avoid pesticide were three times more likely than unconditioned mosquitoes to survive an experiment in which they were offered a chance to fly across pesticide-treated nets to feed on blood.Zachary Snowdon SmithMosquitoes have grown more resistant to pesticide in recent years, and researchers identified mosquito cognition as an overlooked factor in this change.