Study shows mosquitoes can learn to associate DEET repellent with food, reversing aversion to attraction
By
Lazzari, Claudio R., De Luca, David, Nally, Ayelén, Dufour, Charly, Vinauger, Clément
Summary
This research article reveals that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes can learn to associate DEET (the gold standard insect repellent) with food, reversing their natural aversion to the chemical. Through associative learning, mosquitoes that previously found DEET repulsive can become attracted to it after pairing it with a food reward. This finding has significant implications for public health and vector control, as it suggests that mosquitoes may overcome repellent avoidance through learned associations, potentially reducing the effectiveness of DEET-based repellents in certain contexts.
Source
bskyStudy shows mosquitoes can learn to associate DEET repellent with food, reversing aversion to attractiondoi.orgKey quotes
· 3 pulledAedes aegypti mosquitoes are able to associate DEET, the gold standard of repellents, with food, and once this association is learnt, become attracted instead of repelled.
Associative learning switches DEET valence from aversive to appetitive in Aedes aegypti
Claudio R. Lazzari: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing
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