Mating secrets of mosquitoes may help us gain control of them

Ever heard a high-pitched buzzing sound near your ear in the dark? That’s a sign a female mosquito is on a hunt. And no, it’s not after your fear. It’s after your blood. But for a male mosquito, that same buzz means something entirely different. It’s love in the air… or rather, mating season for mosquitoes.

An international team led by researchers at the University of Washington has stumbled upon surprising details about mosquito mating. Spoiler alert: it’s not just about romance. These novel findings could give us the upper hand in malaria control strategies and guide the development of precision drone flight technology.

The male Anopheles coluzzii mosquito is a major culprit in spreading malaria throughout Africa. Let’s call him Mr. A.

Now, for Mr. A, finding a mate isn’t just about showing off his six-pack abdomen. It’s a game of sounds. The moment he hears the sound of female-specific wingbeats, his rather poor vision gets a boost.

The sounds of mosquito mating

Though many mosquito species have subpar eyesight, their other senses make up for it. The moment a male mosquito hears the alluring buzz of a female in flight, his eyes “activate,” and he starts scanning for a potential partner.

Imagine being in a crowded, busy swarm of eager mosquitoes, all trying to find their soulmate. Even in such chaotic conditions, male mosquitoes can visually lock on to his target. He then speeds up, zipping through the swarm without bumping into any fellow Romeos.

A sound love affair

“We have discovered this incredibly strong association in male mosquitoes when they seek a mate. They hear the sound of wingbeats at a specific frequency – the kind that females make – and that stimulus engages the visual system,” explained study lead author Saumya Gupta, a postdoctoral researcher in biology at UW.

It’s a complex tango between different mosquito sensory systems to create this love connection.

Now, why is this important? The strong link between males hearing the female-like buzz and moving towards what they think might be the source could open up new possibilities for mosquito control.

Picture this: a new generation of traps that are specific to the Anopheles mosquitoes, which are the type that spread malaria.

Mosquito mating and preventing malaria

The unique behavior of male mosquitoes got the attention of study senior author Jeffrey Riffell, a UW professor of biology. He suggests that this sound is so irresistible to males that it causes them to steer towards what they think might be the source, be it a real lady or a mosquito trap.

Understanding the interaction between the senses of mosquitoes in these swarms was a key goal for Gupta, Riffell, and their colleagues from various international universities.

Sound cues change male behavior

The team built a miniature arena – a mosquito flight simulator of sorts – where mosquitoes could see, smell, hear, and beat their wings as if in flight, even though they were tethered and couldn’t freely move.

In a series of experiments, the experts found that males changed their behavior based on the sounds they heard. The males moved towards an object when they heard the buzz of a female mosquito, but not when they heard the higher-frequency sound of male wingbeats.

Visual cues also played a role here. If a simulated object appeared more than three body lengths away, the male mosquito wouldn’t be interested, even if the sound of lady-love was in the air.

Fight or flight in mosquito mating

“The resolving power of the mosquito eye is about 1,000-fold less than the resolving power of the human eye. Mosquitoes tend to use vision for more passive behaviors, like avoiding other objects and controlling their position,” Riffell explained.

But when male mosquitoes hear the alluring flight tones of females, they make a surprising set of subtle flight adjustments.

Such visually driven responses could be preparatory maneuvers to avoid an object, the research team concluded. Their observations also suggested that males use close-range visual cues for collision avoidance within swarms.

Future of mosquito control

This innovative research on mating could lead to new methods for mosquito control by capitalizing on how mosquitoes integrate auditory and visual cues.

Mosquitoes are getting smarter and becoming increasingly resistant to insecticides. So, it’s time to outsmart them, and these insights into their mating behavior may be the key.

“Today’s measures, like insecticides, are increasingly less effective as mosquitoes evolve resistance,” said Riffell. “We need new approaches, like lures or traps, which will draw in mosquitoes with high fidelity.”

The study is published in the journal Current Biology.

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