<p>Although females of most species does not behaviourally respond to ecologically-relevant intensity levels of sounds, females of at least a few species are attracted to the playback of frog calls (they blood feed on frogs):</p>
<ul>
<li><em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culex_territans" rel="noreferrer">Culex territans</a></em> (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1603/0013-8746(2008)101%5B95:PTAVIC%5D2.0.CO;2" rel="noreferrer">Bartlett-Healy et al., 2008</a>),</li>
<li><em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranotaenia_lowii" rel="noreferrer">Uranotaenia lowii</a></em> (<a href="http://europepmc.org/abstract/AGR/IND44019390" rel="noreferrer">Borkent &amp; Belton 2006</a>)</li>
</ul>
<p>or to traps baited with pure-frequency sounds:</p>
<ul>
<li><em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culex_tritaeniorhynchus" rel="noreferrer">Culex tritaeniorhynchus</a></em> which blood-feeds on cattle, swine and human (<a href="https://doi.org/10.7601/mez.37.153" rel="noreferrer">Ikeshoji, 1986</a>)</li>
<li><em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansonia_uniformis" rel="noreferrer">Mansonia uniformis</a></em> which blood-feeds on human and birds (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1303/aez.23.265" rel="noreferrer">Ogawa, 1988</a>)</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-09T22:48:04.057Z
2022-07-09T22:48:04.057Z
Noil
<p>At long-range, female mosquitoes mostly rely on CO2 to find blood host by flying up-wind following the odor plume (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758400020816" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ref</a>). They are also known to have <strong>excellent auditory organs</strong> (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2000.1021" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ref1</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.243535" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ref2</a>) involved in mating (<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2421604" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ref</a>).</p>
<p>Could female mosquitoes <strong>detect the sound of their host (call, etc) to locate them</strong>, and then bypass their dependence to the wind direction to find the blood host?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-09T19:36:15.823Z
Worth noting a similar question on the [biology stack](https://biology.stackexchange.com/q/107271/5509).
Jiminy Cricket.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-09T20:05:34.133Z
well spotted! that's mine too :-)
Noil
<insect><air><attraction>
Could mosquitoes be attracted to the sound of their blood host?
# Could mosquitoes be attracted to the sound of their blood host?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-07-09)

At long-range, female mosquitoes mostly rely on CO2 to find blood host by flying up-wind following the odor plume ([ref](https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758400020816)). They are also known to have **excellent auditory organs** ([ref1](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2000.1021), [ref2](https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.243535)) involved in mating ([ref](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2421604)).

Could female mosquitoes **detect the sound of their host (call, etc) to locate them**, and then bypass their dependence to the wind direction to find the blood host?

**Tags:** insect, air, attraction

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Worth noting a similar question on the [biology stack](https://biology.stackexchange.com/q/107271/5509).  
> **username_0**: well spotted! that's mine too :-)  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2022-07-09. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

Although females of most species does not behaviourally respond to ecologically-relevant intensity levels of sounds, females of at least a few species are attracted to the playback of frog calls (they blood feed on frogs):

* *[Culex territans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culex_territans)* ([Bartlett-Healy et al., 2008](https://doi.org/10.1603/0013-8746(2008)101%5B95:PTAVIC%5D2.0.CO;2)),
* *[Uranotaenia lowii](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranotaenia_lowii)* ([Borkent & Belton 2006](http://europepmc.org/abstract/AGR/IND44019390))

or to traps baited with pure-frequency sounds:

* *[Culex tritaeniorhynchus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culex_tritaeniorhynchus)* which blood-feeds on cattle, swine and human ([Ikeshoji, 1986](https://doi.org/10.7601/mez.37.153))
* *[Mansonia uniformis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansonia_uniformis)* which blood-feeds on human and birds ([Ogawa, 1988](https://doi.org/10.1303/aez.23.265))


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