Good news for anyone who is 'barbarically' bitten by mosquitoes!
A new study led by scientists at the University of Washington shows that common mosquitoes flew towards specific colors, ignoring the cooler shades like: green, purple, blue and white.
"Mosquitoes seem to use scents to help them distinguish 'prey,'" said Jeffrey Riffell, a professor of biology at UW. for specific colors and other visual patterns… and head towards them. ”
According to Riffell, there are three main elements that attract mosquitoes: our breath, sweat and skin temperature. In their study, they also found a fourth signal: red, orange, and black.
In their experiment, they placed mosquitoes in a room and placed colored dots, human hands as well as gloved hands. When no odor was stimulated, mosquitoes ignored spots in the room, regardless of color. After spraying carbon dioxide, mosquitoes continued to ignore the colors green, blue, or purple, but flew toward orange, red, or black.
Riffell said knowing which colors attract mosquitoes and which do not can also help create "traps" and other methods to keep mosquitoes away.
