New parents are often extremely picky about where they live, seeking the right combination of spacious housing, local schools, and safe neighbourhoods for their tiny sprogs. A mother mosquito is no less choosy but unlike the white-picket-fence ideal of middle-class humans, she prefers areas of stagnant water, including artificial ones like rain-filled buckets or clogged drains.
But she's not looking for just any old bucket of sluggish water. A new study reveals that a pregnant Aedes aegypti mosquito seeks out just the right patch by tasting for chemicals given off by bacteria in the water. When her young hatch, bacteria will be their only food and to make sure that they are well-fed, she looks out for a special blend of fatty acids at very precise concentrations.
That's interesting in itself, but there are obvious practical applications too. If we know the exact balance of chemicals that entice female mosquitoes ...
