scientists know body odors play a role in who mosquitoes bite most.
but they do not yet completely understand which odors mosquitoes find most attractive. why do mosquitoes appear to bite some individuals more than others? that is a question that vanderbilt biologist jason pitts almost always gets asked when people find out he studies mosquitos for a living. pitts is part of a research team that is developing new attractants and repellants to combat malaria and other mosquito-borne illnesses. he said:
we have a general answer to that question: it has to do with individual variations in body odor , but right now we do not understand the specific combination of odorants that mosquitoes find most attractive.