Linda’s comments:  Makes you wonder if these new mosquitos are mutating, as they become resistant to chemicals??

Link: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/Malaria/research/Pages/newMosquitoSubgroup.aspx

Excerpt:

Most studies of malaria vectors, such as Anopheles gambiae, have focused on mosquitoes that rest indoors, since they are more likely to have contact with humans and transmit the malaria parasite. Larval stage and outdoor-resting mosquitoes are not as well-studied because they are more difficult to find and collect.

Full article: http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000467

Excerpt:

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have identified a new family of odor sensors that mosquitoes use to locate their prey. Their discovery could help explain the puzzling mechanisms behind the mosquito’s sense of smell and further the discovery of new deterrents and traps. Funded by NIAID, the study was published in the journal PLoS Biology in August 2010.

Mosquitoes’ olfactory system, or sense of smell, is crucial for their survival. Mosquitoes use it to identify mates and locate a host. While its importance is well-accepted, the exact mechanisms behind the mosquito’s olfactory system are poorly understood.

For about ten years, scientists have been examining Anopheles gambiae, the primary vector of malaria, and studying a set of odor sensors called AgORs (A. gambiae odorant receptors). Now, the Vanderbilt team, led by Laurence Zwiebel, Ph.D., has discovered a new set of receptors, AgIRs (A. gambiaevariant ionotropic receptors) by examining the larval olfactory system.