As far as I know, mosquitoes are able to perceive the carbon dioxide released by human beings, and the discrepancies between people regarding how often they are bitten is due to variable CO2 release, making for instance pregnant women more vulnerable.
Now I wonder how do those bugs perceive the CO2. Do they have specialized organs ? Do they “smell” it ?
In: Biology
The only thing I know about mosquitoes with respect to CO2 is that their larvae are very vulnerable to it… my preferred method for killing them in my rain barrels was to drop in a chunk of dry ice and wait to scoop up all the dead.
As for your question, I’m not sure that’s their primary way of detecting prey – your appendages aren’t releasing CO2, yet they are most often the target. They seem to be attracted to heat and light. Possibly moisture and maybe pheromones. I’m interested to read an entomologist’s take.
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