Mosquito hearing could be targeted by insecticides

mosquito on skin Specific receptors in the ears of mosquitoes have been revealed to modulate their hearing, finds a new study led by researchers at UCL and University of Oldenburg. Scientists say, this discovery could help develop new insecticides and control the spread of harmful diseases, such as malaria. The ability of male mosquitoes to hear female mosquitoes is a crucial requirement for their reproduction. As a result, the finding could help develop novel insecticides or mating disruptors to prevent mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, and yellow fever In the study, published in Nature Communications , the researchers focused on a signalling pathway involving a molecule called octopamine. They demonstrated that it is key for mosquito hearing and mating partner detection, and so is a potential new target for mosquito control. Male mosquitoes acoustically detect the buzz generated by females within large swarms that form transiently at dusk. As swarms are potentially noisy, mosquitoes have developed highly sophisticated ears to detect the faint flight tone of females amid hundreds of mosquitoes flying together.