Scientists have discovered that different species of mosquitoes are attracted to distinct human scent signatures.
A person who attracts one species of mosquito may be much less attractive to another. In a study involving 119 volunteers, researchers at Florida International University (FIU) found that three main species of disease-carrying mosquitoes consistently preferred different people. Not a single participant was attractive to all three.
The results, published in iSciencechallenge the idea that some people are universally irresistible to mosquitoes. Instead, attraction appears to depend on how individual species detect chemicals and microorganisms associated with human skin.
Different species of mosquitoes prefer different human odors
Researchers looked at three species responsible for spreading diseases such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever and West Nile virus. Each responded to a different combination of biological signals.
Aedes aegyptia mosquito that usually bites during the day, preferred people who did not wear added perfume and whose skin lacked certain volatile compounds. He also showed a slight preference for men. Another day feeder, Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito), was more attracted to people with high levels of ketones and plant chemicals naturally released through the skin.
Culex quinquefasciatus (southern house mosquito), which feeds after dark, responded more strongly to differences in the skin microbiome. This community of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms varies from person to person. Some bacterial families were associated with increased mosquito attraction, while others appeared to discourage feeding.
Human body chemistry helps explain mosquito preferences
Human odor contains more than 1,000 volatile organic compounds, many of which remain poorly understood. To study which biological traits influence mosquito attraction, the scientists collected odor and skin microbiome samples alongside their preference tests.
Led by Ph.D. student Kaylee Marrero, the study was the first to directly compare how multiple mosquito species respond to the same individuals. The researchers had not expected such stark differences between species.
“We didn’t expect the species to prefer different people when we started the study,” Marrero said. “Each species having a distinct microbial signature that they use as a signal really surprised me.”
The results suggest that mosquitoes have evolved different ways of detecting and interpreting the complex chemical signals produced by human skin.
“This correlates very well with differences in skin bacteria and odors,” said Matthew DeGennaro, a neurogeneticist who leads the research team and directs FIU’s Institute for Biomolecular Sciences. “It is clear to me now that our skin microbiomes define our human olfactory signature. Each species has found its own way of decoding this signature.”
Towards more targeted mosquito repellents
Understanding which chemicals attract or deter certain species of mosquitoes could help researchers develop repellents designed to interfere with specific olfactory cues rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.
“Isolating the components of human odor that attract or repel mosquitoes could lead to new strategies to combat vector-borne diseases,” DeGennaro said.
By identifying the chemical compounds and microbial signatures associated with each species, researchers are laying the foundations for more targeted mosquito control. Future repellents could potentially be tailored to the species responsible for disease transmission in particular regions, although more research is needed to translate these findings into effective protection.
Reference: “Individual humans are more attractive to certain mosquito species” by Kaylee M. Marrero, John S. Castillo, Dani Lucas-Barbosa, Anthony J. Bellantuono, Matthew A. Marrero, Dariel Cid, Andre L. Costa-da-Silva, Niels O. Verhulst and Matthew DeGennaro, July 31, 2026, iScience.
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117006
Funding: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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