No Volunteer Attracted All Three Mosquito Species, Study Finds
Each of three dangerous mosquito species favored different people among 119 volunteers, an iScience study found. Skin odor and bacteria played a role.
Whether a person is a mosquito magnet depends on which mosquito is biting. Researchers at Florida International University (FIU) tested three of the world’s most dangerous mosquito species against 119 human volunteers, and not one participant attracted all three, according to a study in the journal iScience.
Each species favored its own group of people, largely on the basis of individual skin odors and skin bacteria. The finding challenges the idea of a single, universal mosquito magnet.
Three species, three sets of favorites
The team studied Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus (the Asian tiger mosquito) and Culex quinquefasciatus (the southern house mosquito). Together these insects spread yellow fever, dengue, Zika, West Nile and other diseases. According to FIU, the work is the first to compare directly how several mosquito species respond to the same group of people. It was led by Ph.D. student Kaylee Marrero, with neurogeneticist Matthew DeGennaro directing the research team.
The preferences differed by species:
- Aedes aegypti, which typically bites during the day, favored people who wore no added fragrances and whose skin carried lower levels of certain volatile chemical compounds. It showed a slight preference for men over women.
- Aedes albopictus, also a daytime feeder, was drawn to people whose skin gave off higher levels of ketones and naturally occurring plant-like volatile compounds.
- Culex quinquefasciatus feeds after dark and appeared especially sensitive to the skin microbiome, the community of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms living on skin. Some bacterial families made a person more attractive, while others seemed to discourage biting.
How the researchers matched odors to bites
Alongside the mosquito preference tests, the team collected samples of each participant’s body odor and skin microbiome. They then identified which chemical compounds and microorganisms were present and measured how abundant each one was. Human skin releases a mixture of more than 1,000 volatile organic compounds, and scientists have not fully identified or understood many of them.
The results showed strong connections between what the mosquitoes preferred and the chemical and microbial makeup of people’s skin. The three species did not share a common set of favorite people. Each consistently went for its own subset of volunteers, which the researchers read as a sign that the species evolved different ways of detecting and interpreting human scent.
Marrero said the team did not expect the species to prefer different people. In her words, a distinct microbial signature serving as a cue for each species was “so surprising.” DeGennaro said the match with skin bacteria and odors was clear to him, and that skin microbiomes define a person’s odor signature, with each mosquito species decoding it in its own way.
Why it matters for mosquito-borne disease
Because the species respond to different chemical signals, the researchers say it may eventually be possible to build repellents aimed at a single species rather than at mosquitoes in general. DeGennaro said isolating the parts of human odor that attract or repel mosquitoes could lead to new ways of fighting vector-borne diseases, meaning illnesses carried by insects.
FIU also says the findings could shape public health planning. Communities could focus on the particular mosquito species that spreads disease in their region instead of assuming every mosquito is drawn to the same people for the same reasons. The repellents described are a possibility for the future, and none were tested in this work.
The study
The paper, titled “Individual humans are more attractive to certain mosquito species,” appeared in iScience, 2026, volume 29, issue 8, article 117006 (DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117006). Its authors are Kaylee M. Marrero, John S. Castillo, Dani Lucas-Barbosa, Anthony J. Bellantuono, Matthew A. Marrero, Dariel Cid, Andre L. Costa-da-Silva, Niels O. Verhulst and Matthew DeGennaro. The summary of the work was provided by Florida International University and published by ScienceDaily on Nov. 10.
Source: ScienceDaily
