A scientist locks himself up with hundreds of hungry mosquitoes to discover their way of attacking us

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It was then Christopher Zuo, who was conducting this study as part of his master’s thesis at Georgia Tech University, to step into the arena, or rather the mosquito chamber. And this, on several occasions with different outfits: dressed all in black, all in white, or with a combination of these colors. The student extended his arms and let dozens of insects fly around him, while cameras recorded their trajectories.

If the first attempt, at the very beginning of the study, led to several bites, despite a suit made of special net, the other sessions with everyday clothes, a face mask, and a cap allowed him to emerge (relatively) unscathed. And, above all, with many answers to his questions. “Previous studies had shown that visual signals and carbon dioxide attract mosquitoes. But we didn’t know how they combine these signals to determine their trajectory,” explains Christopher Zuo. “They are like little robots. We just needed to uncover their secrets.”

**Twenty million data points collected**

Ultimately, 20 million positions and speeds of mosquitoes were collected. They were sent to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), which determined the most likely rules behind these flight trajectories. According to their results, researchers estimate that mosquitoes do not swarm by mimicry. Each individual seems to perceive the signals independently, then ends up in the same place at the same time.

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“It’s like a crowded bar,” explains David Hu, a professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Biological Sciences. “The customers are not there because they are following each other. They are attracted by the same signals: drinks, music, and atmosphere. It’s the same thing for mosquitoes. Instead of following the leader, the insect follows the signals and ends up in the same place by chance as the others.”

The researchers also designed an interactive website accessible to the public to present these trajectories and behaviors. It shows how mosquitoes change direction, accelerate, and slow down based on visual signals and CO₂.

**Hope for fighting diseases**

The researchers hope that their discoveries will help improve anti-parasitic efforts. “One technique is to use suction traps that work with constant signals, such as a continuous diffusion of CO₂ or a permanent light source, to attract mosquitoes,” explains Christopher Zuo. “Our study suggests that intermittent use, with suction activation at intervals, would be more effective. In fact, mosquitoes tend to not stay long around their target when both signals are not used simultaneously.”

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**Mosquitoes transmit diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, and Zika, causing more than 700,000 deaths each year.