Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears

The constant buzzing sound of those annoying mosquitoes in your ears kept disturbing you as you sleep. The bite of a mosquito will cause itchiness and irritation on your skin. It is not surprising to see it being one of the deadliest creatures on the planet, causing 2 million deaths each year due to malaria that it carries.

Most of us have experienced such annoyance and it can be said that most of us are annoyed by the buzzing sound in our ears each time a mosquito flies near us. One thing for sure is that the mosquito will definitely bite and suck our blood. But why do they like to buzz in our ears or heads all the time?
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There are definitely many answers to this question that goes around on the Internet but what makes them very attracted to us? The mosquitoes are in fact attracted to the smell of carbon dioxide that humans release and it definitely escapes through our noses and mouth as we exhale.

So this clearly explains why it flies close to our face but how about the ears? Another thing that mosquitoes are attracted to will be heat. As we sleep, the human ears will generate a lot of heat and making them slightly warm.


Despite of that, the ears are not the only part of our body that releases heat when we sleep so this might not be the most accurate answer yet. There are some theories going around stating that the ear has a certain smell similar to what the mosquitoes release during mating as if it will make them buzz close to our ears.
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But scientifically speaking this has yet to be proven. But perhaps the most precise answer or theory is that the mosquito is not really that attracted to human ears. Especially since our ears are our sense of hearing making us listen to the buzz as the mosquito flies nearby it.


Dr. Christopher Johnston from Baltimore has found a discovery where mosquitoes are able to listen to the buzzing sound of their partner after mating more than 100 years ago. He found that mosquitoes have organs that function like an antenna. This particular organ was named Johnston since he was the one discovering it.
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Later on, another scientist managed to discover how the buzzing sound of the mosquito is produced. Even though we are able to hear it as the mosquito fly nearby but it is not because of the flapping sound of its wings in the air. It was in fact produced by another organ that produces the sound as the mosquito's wings' are moved.


This matter was discovered by a British entomologist, A.E. Shipley in 1902. In his statements, he told that the internal organs of the mosquito shaped like teeth are what made the sound when colliding with its wings.

The female mosquito is bigger and flaps the wings at a slower pace compared to the male and this sound can be identified by the male as a sign of mating.

But do you also know that there are more than 3000 species of mosquitoes around the world but not even a single male sucks blood? This is because the female and male mosquito highly depends on the sweetness of flower nectars as a diet.

Only the female mosquito sucks blood since they require iron and protein to produce their eggs.

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