The most beautiful mosquito in the world only loves leg hair, regardless of gender

If such a beautiful mosquito bit you, would you still want to kill it?

The most beautiful mosquito in the world | Prof. Woodbridge Foster & Prof. Frank H. Collins / CDC

This is Sabethes cyaneus , a species of mosquito that lives in the tropical rainforests of South and Central America. This mosquito currently has no official Chinese name, but based on the meaning of its specific epithet cyaneus, we will temporarily call it the "indigo mosquito." This mosquito is known as the most beautiful mosquito in the world .

The most beautiful bloodthirster

There are about 3,500 members of the Culicidae family, and most of the common ones we see are Anopheles, Aedes, Culex, etc. These mosquitoes look ordinary, and coupled with the attribute of biting people, it is really difficult to win the favor of humans.

The genus Echinops is completely different. Its gorgeous color scheme makes it difficult to associate it with annoying mosquitoes. This bright color, which is different from other mosquitoes, is related to their developed vision. When common mosquitoes are looking for mates, males usually identify the location of females by the frequency of their wing flapping. But male Echinops is different. They can directly locate the other party through vision - even if the female remains motionless, the male can still find them. Aedes mosquitoes and Culex mosquitoes like to come out in the shade, but Echinops mosquitoes usually come out during the day and are most active when the temperature and humidity are highest in the day.

Another species of mosquito, Sabethes belisarioi, is also quite gorgeous｜Paul Bertner

Since we are not blind, appearance seems to be more important. Members of the genus Sabethes are generally brightly colored, and among them, Sabethes cyaneus is the leader.

Their backs are blue-purple with a metallic luster, while their abdomens are a contrasting silver-white. The most representative feature is their mid-legs - insects have three pairs of legs, which are called forelegs, mid-legs, and hind-legs from front to back. Insects live in different environments, and their legs have different shapes and functions, such as walking, jumping, and hunting. The mid-legs of the evil mosquito are different from any other insect legs. They are not only gorgeously colored, but also covered with feathers, like two eye-catching oars.

A Close Look at the Feathery Oars｜Dianna Steiner

Stretch out your legs, look at me, am I beautiful?

What is the purpose of the wonderful paddle-shaped midfoot? To attract mates, of course.

When a male mosquito encounters a mate he likes, he will try to slowly approach and stand side by side under a branch. He will place one of his "paddles" above the female's wings, probably to prevent her from flying away. When everything is ready, the male mosquito begins to dance, swinging his other "paddle" back and forth . Then, he will rhythmically dance his forelegs and body.

This courtship dance is very energy-consuming and will directly affect the life span of male mosquitoes. But for them, leaving offspring may be more important than longevity. Moreover, in order to get the opportunity to mate, male mosquitoes are very persistent. If the female mosquito does not respond for a long time, he will persist in repeating this whole set of dance moves -until the female mosquito accepts him or kicks him away.

Surprisingly, male mosquitoes in the courtship period not only take a fancy to female mosquitoes, but also express their appreciation for good-looking males by approaching them and happily performing courtship dances . The "harassed" male mosquitoes will mostly remain silent, and sometimes they will directly kick away these annoying and energetic male mosquitoes.

Seeing them courting like this, don't you think that only males should have such beautiful and exaggerated oars? However, in Sabethes cyaneus, the beauty of female mosquitoes is not inferior to that of males , which surprised evolutionists.

The left and right sides are male and female. They both have large oars, but their abdomens are different: the male abdomen is slightly bulging at the end, while the female abdomen is narrowed at the end. | Dianna Steiner

Can ugly males find wives?

In nature, females are usually a relatively scarce resource, and males have to compete fiercely for limited mating opportunities . Some male animals decide the outcome through fighting, such as elk; some males win the hearts of women by constantly showing off their beauty, such as peacocks. Under this kind of sexual selection pressure, females often look plain, while males are beautiful and attractive. And if you are not good-looking, it is difficult to find a wife.

However, Sabethes cyaneus is not only a rare species in nature where both male and female mosquitoes are beautiful ; even without their extravagant oars, male mosquitoes can still find wives!

Mating mosquitoes | Woodbridge A Foster / Ohio State University

In order to study the reason why Sabethes cyaneus is beautiful in both sexes, researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden conducted a series of experiments. They found that removing the paddle-like structure of males did not significantly reduce their mating success rate . These males without paddles still danced to the girls they liked according to the steps, and their probability of being accepted was no lower than those male mosquitoes with intact paddle-like structures.

However, on the other hand, if the female's paddle-like structure is removed, their chances of being favored by males will drop significantly , and few males will dance with them for courtship. In other words, although it seems that males are dancing for females and showing off their big "paddles", in fact, they have already made some selections based on the female's "paddles" before dancing.

The study further found that the size of the female's "paddle" is proportional to their reproductive capacity. When a female has a large paddle, the message she is showing is actually "I have good fertility" ; while males choose their mating partners by judging "who is more likely to give birth to their children." This may also explain why males show their love to same-sex people with beautiful "paddles" - their mate selection preferences are actually very unified. In their opinion, the large paddle-like structure of the same sex may also be a manifestation of fertility. It's just that they forget that such pursuit will only be futile in the end...

There are three mosquitoes in the picture: the male on the far left is courting the female in the middle, and the male on the far right is eating watermelon and taking a rest｜Sandra H. South

Sexual selection seems to be only partially true for this mosquito - females spend a lot of energy to become beautiful because of the male's mate selection preferences. But why do male mosquitoes also develop such a sophisticated paddle structure? Researchers speculate that the paddle structure of male mosquitoes is not the only consideration factor for females, and courtship dance may also be an important part of impressing them. However, we still don't know how the two work together to influence female selection preferences.

Unfortunately, after completing his doctoral thesis, this researcher did not continue to be active in the academic field, so the beauty of males remains a mystery. We contacted Professor Göran Arnqvist, the supervisor of the above-mentioned doctoral student. Göran said that he believed that sexual selection also acts on males. After all, males frequently show off their beautiful oars during the energy-consuming courtship dance ; although the specific mechanism is still unknown, "the absence of evidence is not evidence for absence". I hope that there will be follow-up research in the future to fill this gap.

Gil Wizen captured a killer mosquito in last year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and named the image "Beautiful bloodsucker" | Gil Wizen

However, Sabethes cyaneus is beautiful, but like most other mosquitoes, females need a good meal before they can reproduce . In experiments, researchers even fed mosquitoes with their own bodies. Moreover, the blood-sucking ability of this mosquito is no less than that of the very fierce Aedes mosquito, and it can also spread yellow fever.

So, if you are bitten by such a beautiful mosquito, you probably still want to kill it.

References

[1] https://www.vdci.net/blog/mosquito-of-the-month-sabethes-cyaneus-paddle-legged-beauty/

[2] Hancock, RG, Foster, WA, & Yee, WL (1990). Courtship behavior of the mosquitoSabethes cyaneus (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of Insect Behavior, 3(3), 401-416.

[3] South, SH, & Arnqvist, G. (2011). Male, but not female, preference for an ornament expressed in both sexes of the polygynous mosquito Sabethes cyaneus. Animal Behavior, 81(3), 645-651.

[4] South, S. (2011). The Evolution of Sexually Homologous Ornaments: Selection via Male Mate Choice Coinciding with Male-Male Competition in a Neotropical Mosquito (Doctoral dissertation, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis).

Author: Mao Jiaoyan

Editor: Mai Mai

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