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how to tether a mosquito
Tagged Under : insects
Why do mosquitoes buzz in people’s ears? I actually can’t remember the conclusion of that children’s book, but I can now tell you a bunch more about mosquitoes buzzing in general. It’s in this ScienceNOW story. Enjoy.
For the study, the researchers recorded the sound mosquitoes’ wings make. They needed the mosquitoes to fly in place. The paper just said the mosquitoes were tethered, so of course I had to ask how.
So, in case you ever need to know how to put a mosquito on a leash, here’s an excerpt from my interview notes with Gabriella Gibson, who’s been studying mosquitoes for 30 years:
“You warm up a wire with something like a soldering iron – a very thin wire with a little loop on it. You dip it in some melted beeswax, and you dip it on the back of the mosquito, which you keep cold by slopping it on a block of ice, and then it just sort of melts onto the back of the mosquito. About a minute later, it’s fine and flying away. You can stop it from flying and keep them kind of calm by just putting a piece of tissue paper touching their legs. If their legs let go, they start flapping their wings. We had a little rig so we could lower them down so they could rest a bit. We could give them a little piece of cotton with a piece of sugar water – they stick their feeding parts into it.”
Then she told me she once used a fine piece of silk thread instead of a wire and took a mosquito for a walk. (It flew, she walked.) I’m not sure if there was a scientific reason for that or if it was recreational. Anyway: this is someone who knows how to handle a mosquito.
Is there a reason that there’s a Chinese character with this post. Or is it just a coincidence???
Let me explain. I read national geographic in Chinese, as I’m studying it. It’s often helpful to have an English translation, so I googled your name. So here I am! And the first thing I see is the Chinese character for “mosquito”!
So what’s the deal?
Funny that google sent you here!! It’s because I wanted something to go with this story and thought the Japanese word for “mosquito” would do nicely. (Also the Chinese word, of course, although I wasn’t thinking of that at the time.) Anyway, welcome, and sorry I can’t help you on any other Chinese words.
But did she tell you how to stop a mosquito from buzzing your ear?
Quite the opposite – she told me how to get them all to come fly in your face. Much less useful tip. She also told me that Anopheles mosquito bites don’t itch, so, that’s something.
I LOVE this story. The original children’s book and the SNOW. The art from the book affected me for life. Check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Mosquitoes_Buzz_in_People%27s_Ears
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/westonwoods/study_guides/why_mosquitoes_buzz.pdf
To this day, the mosquito buzzes in people’s ears as
if to say “Zeee! Is everyone still angry with me?”