Mosquito, Anopheles gambiae

Many hunters react to their prey s overall scent or some of its components, perhaps the smell of fur or some less complex odor. One of the world s most injurious insects, the African malaria mosquito (Anopheles gambiae), prefers humans to other sources of a blood meal. Oddly, whenever possible the mosquitoes bite people on their feet. This predilection reflects their strong attraction to the mixture of fatty acids that we associate with smelly feet. Humans may find the odor offensive, but these mosquitoes know it as a fragrant guide to blood. The same fatty acids also draw them to another odor that offends some people, the smell of Limburger cheese. 

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Y et, another example of the pleiotropic nature of ecdysteroids has been characterized in a mosquito (Anopheles gambiae, Pondeville et al. 2008). Males of this arthropod transfer significant amounts of 20E to females during mating. Since 20E is a female... 

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