The olfactory gating of visual preferences to human skin and visible spectra in mosquitoes.

ABSTRACT: Mosquitoes track odors, locate hosts, and find mates visually. The color of a food resource, such as a flower or warm-blooded host, can be dominated by long wavelengths of the visible light spectrum (green to red for humans) and is likely important for object recognition and localization. However, little is known about the hues that attract mosquitoes or how odor affects mosquito visual search behaviors. We use a real-time 3D tracking system and wind tunnel that allows careful control of the olfactory and visual environment to quantify the behavior of more than 1.3 million mosquito trajectories. We find that CO₂ induces a strong attraction to specific spectral bands, including those that humans perceive as cyan, orange, and red. Sensitivity to orange and red correlates with mosq

SUBMITTER: Alonso San Alberto D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8816903 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature