As hayfever and mosquitoes are unwelcome staples of summer, researchers have made a surprising discovery about what attracts the insects. Instead of a particular scent or taste, it’s the colour of your clothing that may be the culprit.
A 2022 study by the University of Washington found that certain colours, such as red, orange, black, and cyan, are more likely to attract common mosquito species. Wearing green, purple, blue, or white may help you avoid their attention. According to the study, human skin, regardless of tone, emits a red-orange signal to mosquitoes. But the insects start hunting using a sense of smell before narrowing down on colours.
Jeffrey Riffell, a UW biology professor, explained: “When they smell specific compounds, like CO2 from our breath, that scent stimulates the eyes to scan for specific colours and other visual patterns, which are associated with a potential host, and head to them.
“One of the most common questions I’m asked is ‘What can I do to stop mosquitoes from biting me?’ I used to say there are three major cues that attract mosquitoes: your breath, your sweat and the temperature of your skin.
“In this study, we found a fourth cue: the color red, which can not only be found on your clothes, but is also found in everyone’s skin. The shade of your skin doesn’t matter, we are all giving off a strong red signature.
“Filtering out those attractive colours in our skin, or wearing clothes that avoid those colours, could be another way to prevent a mosquito from biting.”
A mosquito’s genes can also dictate who they prefer to bite, the study found.
Mosquitoes with a mutant copy of the gene that smells CO2 didn’t have much of a preference when it came to colour. So, even wearing purple around these specific bugs won’t make a difference.
Another batch of bugs had mutant genes related to vision, so whenever CO2 was present they became more colour blind.
A 2004 study also found that certain blood types are more attractive to certain mosquitoes.
Blood type O proved to be the most popular among the bugs, followed by B and AB meanwhile blood group A sometimes even repelled the pests.
