Mosquitoes losing their bite: How Skrillex's music can save summer
Have you ever wondered how to stop mosquitoes from attacking you? The answer might be simpler than you think. Just... Skrillex! Research has shown that female mosquitoes listening to dubstep have less desire for blood.
Mosquitoes are our unwanted summer cohabitants. As if that weren't enough, these small, annoying insects are also responsible for spreading dangerous diseases, such as the Zika virus and dengue fever. What if we could curb their appetite for blood and eagerness to reproduce? A group of scientists decided to test whether loud music could help with this. They chose Skrillex, the dubstep master and expert in powerful vibrations.
Skrillex, mosquitoes, and a hamster for dinner
In the experiment, the research team prepared a special mosquito feast. "Fasting" female mosquitoes for 12 hours were placed in a cage. Next to them was an innocent hamster (serving as dinner) and a male mosquito (acting as a date partner). To introduce some chaos, Skrillex's track "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" was played at full volume in the background. The female mosquitoes spent 10-minute sessions in this club atmosphere while the researchers closely observed their behaviour.
Dubstep discouraged female mosquitoes from biting
The experiment's results were quite surprising. It turned out that the female mosquitoes exposed to Skrillex's sounds had major problems concentrating. Instead of immediately jumping on the hamster, as the females in silence did, these "music-influenced" insects needed two to three minutes to start looking for dinner. That's not all—when they finally found the hamster, staying in the club mood, they less frequently tried to bite it.
And what about romantic urges? Skrillex turned out to be a terrible wingman. Mosquitoes listening to dubstep had five times fewer successful dates than those spending time in silence. Scientists suggest that the aggressive vibrations of the track disoriented the insects, which could not synchronise the rhythm of their wings - the insect equivalent of swiping right.
The impact of music on insects
The study's results fit well into the growing body of evidence that man-made sounds can disrupt insect behaviour. Similar experiments have shown that leaf-eating insects lose their appetite when they hear sounds generated by an audio oscillator and beetles feeding on aphids lose interest in their meal when "Back in Black" by AC/DC plays in the background.
Not everyone may be a fan of dubstep, but if Skrillex can stop mosquitoes from attacking our bodies and limit their reproduction, it might be worth rethinking our summer playlist. Instead of traditional sprays and insect nets, maybe investing in a solid speaker and a few Skrillex albums is better.
