An international research team from Japan and Britain has succeeded in using a computer to assess how mosquitoes are able to avoid obstacles, such as walls and floors, even in the dark, according to a report in U.S. journal "Science."
The team reports that the insect's system detects irregularities in the airflow created by the flapping of its wings. The disturbances are caused by obstacles and picked up by the mosquito's sensitive antennae.
Toshiyuki Nakata, an assistant professor at Chiba University and a member of the research team, said that mosquitoes can fly in the dark, avoid obstacles and lay eggs in the water from several centimeters above the surface.
Using a high-speed camera capable of capturing 10,000 frames per second, Nakata and his team filmed mosquitoes in flight. Based on the images, the researchers used a computer to calculate changes in airflow as mosquitoes fluttered near walls and floors.
As a result, the researchers determined that it was highly likely that the insect was aware of walls and other objects by detecting changes in air currents caused by the obstacles through the movement of its antennae.
Mosquitoes that can detect just 0.005 degrees of an antenna wobble can even avoid walls and floors 3-4 centimeters away from the body -- nearly 10 times their length, the researchers calculated.
The project is expected to contribute to the development of a system in which drones make adjustments to avoid obstacles while in flight.
"This could also lead to the development of a method to control airflow and attract mosquitoes to one spot," said Shigeru Sunada, a professor of flight dynamics at Nagoya University.
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