Mosquitos and colours

[237SJ]

Is there any scientific proof that mosquitoes are attracted to blue? I thought that the reason that windows are painted blue in some countries is that the colour repels mosquitoes. However, my Mum went to her doctor the other day because she was bitten by a mosquito (in the UK) on her arm where she doesn`t have any lymph nodes. The doctor asked her if she had any Lavender outside her door (which she does). He said that mozzies are attracted to the colour blue. I`m wondering if he has a point. He`s Indian and I have spent quite a lot of time time on the Indian subcontinent and I wonder if he has a point. I remember sitting in the hallway of a B&B in Sri Lanka at dawn and a mozzie flew past my friend on his way to get to me. I was wearing pale blue trousers and he bit me though my trousers. Why did the mozzie pick me?

[Khandro]

//Why did the mozzie pick me?// if we knew the answer to that, we could make a fortune ;-)

[Zacs-Master]

And an effective mosquito repellant.

[237SJ]

Thanks for your answers. My question was about whether there is any connection between mozzies and the colour blue.

[Zacs-Master]

Well, non of them are Man City fans so......

[237SJ]

Is anyone a Man City fan though?

[Zacs-Master]

Noel Ghallager and that bloke who's always in the Jimmy McGovern plays.

[237SJ]

Well, I`m very happy to hear that. As someone who knows absolutely nothing about football, I will sleep soundly tonight.

[237SJ]

Mind you, Noel G isn`t bad. He was good with Oasis and he`s not bad with his new band. Just my opinion though.

[Zacs-Master]

What, even without an answer to your question on mozzies. By the way. Vitamin B taken for a couple of months before you go to foreign climes works.

[Zacs-Master]

He's a Manc Salads Chef. Just my opinion.

[237SJ]

Vitamin B doesn`t work. I`ve tried everything. I don`t get bitten anymore because I have immunity (because I have been bitten so many times)

[Zacs-Master]

What, like Julian Assange?

[HowardKennitby]

I think/hope you mean stung.
Some animals do dislike blue. Several years ago the city council issued free plastic bin liners to all the residents. These were coloured a pale blue. This was apparently because the blue did not attract gulls etc.

[EDDIE51]

Mosquitoes pick up smell not colour. That is why they go for lavender nothing to do with the colour. Some people have a body odour which mosquitoes find more attractive than other people that is why some people get bitten more than others in the same place at the same time.

[HowardKennitby]

Sorry, I was thinking of something else there. Mosquitoes do bite.

[237SJ]

I`ve heard a couple of theorys. I have heard that mozzies pick people who give out more carbon dioxide through their skin (which are people who are less fit apparently). I have also heard that they go for people who are lacking in B vitamins. From what I have seen, the carbon dioxide theory seems to be the most believable.

[Zacs-Master]

Well, I always get bitten but have been taking vit B for a few months, went to Corfu in July and not one bite!

[snags]

''Mosquitoes, like other insects, see in the blue, ultraviolet spectrum. So they're attracted to blue lights and clothing, but not to reds and yellows. That's why bug zappers have blue lights and why some people use yellow lights on porches''.

[Tindellm]

There is popular belief that mosquitoes see in the blue wavelength of the visible spectrum. If that is the case, then blue would stand out more to them than say someone wearing lighter colors. This could also be why they are attracted to someone wearing a darker color of clothing versus someone again in lighter clothing. There is also popular belief that mosquitoes are attracted to certain blood types. Maybe you just taste better than your friend.

[wildwood]

This one seems to make the most sense to me. Particularly, as you so rightly hinted at, the carbon dioxide in your exhaling breath.

http://voices.yahoo.c...osquitoes-396321.html