Mosquitoes have an appetite dampener in their derrières.
When mosquitoes’ bellies are full, special cells in their rectums block their bloodthirst, researchers report March 20 in Current Biology. The finding may unlock a way to stop the insects from biting in the first place.
Female mosquitoes feed on blood to give their eggs a boost in protein and other nutrients before laying them.
“We’ve known for decades that after the females take this big meal of blood, they almost completely turn off their attraction to find and bite humans,” says Laura B. Duvall, a neuroscientist at Columbia University.
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