It sucks to be these people.
The idea of a mosquito magnet might seem like a myth, but French scientists have discovered chemical processes that make some people more irresistible to the bloodsuckers, per a recent study in Nature.
“It’s not a misconception — mosquitoes are attracted to some people more than others,” Frederic Simard of France’s Institute of Research for Development told AFP, Science Alert reported.
Contrary to popular belief, these disease-spreading insects are not attracted to eye or hair color or blood type — the latter of which has “no scientific basis,” per Simard — but rather factors such as carbon dioxide.
In fact, CO2 “is the first signal that triggers their behavior” when they are dozens of feet away, Swedish scientist Rickard Ignell told AFP.
Upon getting within 30 feet, these critters’ sensitive receptors detect our odor, which, when combined with carbon dioxide, creates a powerful attractant akin to parasite cologne.
Meanwhile, body temp and humidity make certain targets especially enticing at close range.
Coincidentally, while odor was known to drawn in these tiny plasma-pilferers, researchers are only beginning to understand which exact compounds are the biggest draws.
To determine what makes skeeters more likely to bite, researchers subjected 42 women to clouds of mosquitoes and analyzed which subjects they preferred.
They found that of 1,000 different odorous chemicals released by humans, these biting bugs were attracted to around 27 of them.
Coincidentally the biggest magnets for mosquitoes – which included pregnant women in their second trimester – produced large volumes of “1-octen-3-ol”, or mushroom alcohol that’s created when the skin oil sebum breaks down.
Ignell noted that even small increases in the substance had a powerful effect. “Mosquitoes are fascinating creatures,” he declared.
Coincidentally, mushroom alcohol isn’t the only type of hooch that’s like catnip to mosquitoes.
Dutch scientists recently found that these vampiric critters prefer people who’ve knocked back a few beers — a phenomenon that researchers previously attributed to alcohol’s effect on body temp, the amount of exhaled CO2 and skin odor.
In the most unlikely law of attraction, mosquitoes have been shown to like people who wear the insect repellent Deet.
While the chemical is designed to deter the creatures, they’ve grown to associate it with a fleshy meal.
