Page 124 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2019

HEALTHY LIVING all the buzz
While others remain unscathed by the insects, someone visiting Ship Island returns covered in mosquito bites. Why do some people invite mosquitoes?
According to the Entomological Society of America (ESA) website, mosquitoes are largely attracted to their victims because of underlying genetic factors. Mosquitoes bite people to harvest proteins from blood and land on people with Type O blood practically twice as often as those with Type A blood. People with Type B blood fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. About 85 percent of human beings secrete a chemical signal through their skin that indicates the blood type they have; moreover, mosquitoes are more attracted to secretors regardless of blood type.
Dr. Christian Stephenson, extension agent with Mississippi State University Extension says, “Some blood types are more attractive than others. Not everybody who has a particular blood type shows a chemical signal to mosquitoes that they have that blood type.”
The ESA website publishes, one
of the key ways mosquitoes locate their targets is by smelling the carbon dioxide emitted in their breath. They use an organ called a maxillary palp to do this and can detect carbon dioxide from as far as 164 feet away.
Dr. Stephenson says, “The biggest thing that attracts mosquitoes to people is carbon dioxide. We all exhale carbon dioxide when we breathe, but some people have higher metabolisms. Essentially, some people breath faster and exchange a little more carbon dioxide in the air. Larger people exhale more carbon dioxide
and that is a big part of what mosquitoes use to find you.” The ESA website continues,
mosquitoes find victims at closer range by smelling the lactic acid, uric acid, ammonia and other substances expelled via their sweat. The insects are attracted to people with higher body temperatures.
The specific types and volume
of bacteria that naturally live on human skin likely affect peoples’ attractiveness to mosquitoes, and having large amounts of just a few kinds of bacteria make skin more irresistible to the insects. Surprisingly, having lots of different species of bacteria seems to make skin less appealing.
Pregnant women entice approximately twice as many mosquito bites as others, probably because they exhale about 21 percent more carbon dioxide and are on average about 1.26 degrees warmer than other people.
Since mosquitoes use vision, along with scent, to find humans, wearing black, dark blue, or red colors that stand out may make an individual easier to locate.
Dr. Stephenson stresses, “If you are going to be active at the time mosquitoes are active, it’s a really good idea to wear repellents. Deet is very effective at discouraging mosquitoes. Just for your comfort and potentially for health reasons.”
124 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • August 2019
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story by Lisa Toye Kaufman