RE: [Paddlewise] Mosquito's

Question:  How does the mosquito evolve to have the behavior of avoiding
a sound that precedes their death?  I believe that mosquitos do not
communicate information to each other, along the lines of "And another
thing, kiddies, if you hear a buzzing sound - duck!"  So the behavior
would have to evolve by increased survival of mosquitos who recognized
the sound as indicating danger, avoided the danger, and lived to
reproduce.  I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but is there someone more
familiar with evolution than this old anthropology major who does know?

Jim Tibensky


Jim and everyone,

I'm somewhat of a lurker on this forum, this is my first post, and although
I've paddled extensively in wilderness areas, I don't consider myself an
expert canoer...more of an experienced wilderness camper that uses a canoe
to get around...but I've certainly enjoyed the discussions. Anyway, maybe I
can contribute a bit of info here, or at least a smile...

I cannot vouch for what mosquitoes can and cannot hear, but I can offer a
possible semi-answer to Jim's question that at least some insects do detect
certain frequencies including those of potential predators and that there
appears to be an instinctive avoidance reaction. For instance, some species
of moths react to the echolocation frequencies used by bats, one of their
primary predators, by folding their wings and dropping into grass or
shrubbery where the bats refuse to go.  Bats can get a hard return off moths
from a distance of about 10-15 feet or so, but moths can detect the bats'
echolocation clicks at considerably greater distances, so their avoidance
behavior works quite well.

To illustrate, one evening my newly-wedded wife was unsuccessfully chasing a
moth through the house, but she couldn't catch it.  I, being a naturalist
and knowing such inherently usable tidbits, such as facets of moth behavior,
slyly pulled a set of keys from my pocket and jingled them gently while
commanding the moth to immediately land.  The moth, detecting the
frequencies of an echolocating bat among the wide range of frequencies
emanating from the jingling keys, folded its wings and fell onto the carpet,
whereupon I simply reached down and picked it up, much to the amazement of
my wife!  I have since been her hero and she has been my best canoeing
buddy...grin.

Not all species of moths use this defense, but certainly several do.

As to mosquitoes, we simply bear their existence when they are infrequent,
use a bit of Skin-so-Soft or citronella based repellant when they are a bit
more common, or DEET when they are swarming.  A friend used a $9.00
frequency generator repeller on a trip to the Boundary Waters, but we could
have sold him a bottle of Cutters for $20 the first night.

Gordon Dietzman
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