They are the terror of the summer. The threat you are looking for to avoid all day. In France, 65 species of mosquitoes are recorded, of which the most famous of them, the aedes albopictus (the tiger mosquito), is the subject of an awareness-raising campaign of the Handles. But the majority are not a threat. A situation that could however be set to change, says The Guardian. In fact, some factors could promote the evolution of mosquitoes, more quick to look for to feed on humans and not on animals.
The study, published in Current Biology, is interested precisely in the famous tiger mosquito. Present in a hundred countries on five continents, the insect is native to South-East Asia is part of the species most invasive in the world. The researchers collected eggs of the tiger mosquito on 27 sites in sub-saharan Africa. Their analysis has allowed us to discover variations unknown until then. Mosquitoes live in areas with more densely populated areas or where the climate is more dry, they were more likely to attack humans than animals.
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A relationship of dependency
How to explain this situation ? Noah Rose, of Princeton university, explains that it could be a kind of dependency relationship of mosquitoes to the human presence. "We think that the mosquitoes in these climates are particularly dependent of the human beings and their reserves of water to survive. "In effect, what are the two criteria that are necessary, according to the scientists. The city life alone is not enough to change the habits of the mosquitoes.
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more worrisome, scientists have sought to model how the climate change, but also urbanization of the african continent could alter the behaviour of mosquitoes. However, if the rhythm of the seasons should not be fundamentally changed in the 30 years to come, the urban concentration would however be able to change the behavior of mosquitoes and, in particular, the importance of the attacks. Everything except one detail, when we know the role they play in the spread of dengue fever, yellow fever or chikungunya. "It is necessary to monitor these mosquitoes," warns Noah Pink.
