Mosquitoes can hear you from a distance of 32ft

Washington. Feb. 9: A new study, conducted by researchers at Cornell and Binghamton University now finds that mosquitoes, can hear over distances much greater than anyone suspected.

Scientists earlier believed that organisms require eardrums for long- range hearing, and that the feathery antennae with fine hairs that mosquitoes and some insects use to hear only worked at close distances of several centimetres.

However, a series of experiments has now provided neurophysiological and behavioural evidence that the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes — which transmit such diseases as yellow fever, dengue and Chikungunya viruses — can hear specific frequencies as far away as 10 meters ( 32 feet) or more.

These frequencies overlapped well with the frequencies of female mosquitoes in flight as well as human speech.

Researchers found that the sweet spot of frequency that the mosquitoes are sensitive to was between 150 to 500 hertz.

The mosquitoes’ frequency range for hearing also overlapped with human speech, according to researchers. — ANI