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It's both interesting and expected that we're only just now really getting a grasp on mosquito targeting. Viruses and bacteria tend to have single targets, easier for us to figure out, whereas more complex mosquitoes logically have more complex targeting systems. We'll probably have it sorted in a decade.

Now, as for my unique anecdotal contribution:

I 1) don't attract many mosquitoes but 2) when one of them does find its way to me, I'm non-reactive (no itchy bump). I'm both a sweaty and oily person, but I don't really produce BO. No stinky armpits (I save a fortune on deodorant), no stinky feet, etc. My father has a similar situation and he's non-attractive for them, but my siblings are less sweaty, but do produce BO and get eaten alive.




> I 1) don't attract many mosquitoes but 2) when one of them does find its way to me, I'm non-reactive (no itchy bump)

There's potential for bias here: (2) might be over-inflating your impression of (1). An alternative hypothesis (not trying to contradict your own experience!): you attract mosquitoes as much as the next person, but since you're nonreactive, you simply don't notice that mosquitoes are bothering you unless you happen to catch them in the act of biting you (which they're good at avoiding), or if you see or hear one flying around you (which could be chalked up to random flight, or them having trouble locating you).

> I'm both a sweaty and oily person, but I don't really produce BO

Another comment on this story (https://news.ycombinator.com/reply?id=19535422&goto=item%3Fi...) points out that mosquitoes home in on lactic acid, which is produced by non-odour-causing eccrine sweat glands, which explains why there is actually no correlation between human-perceptible body odour and mosquito attractiveness.




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