What is the evolutionary reasoning behind a mosquito's buzz?
Asked by
emilyrose (
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September 2nd, 2009
My friend just brought this up and I thought it was a great question. Why do mosquitoes buzz? If they didn’t, wouldn’t it be far easier for them to get away with biting us? If you have any links to the answer that would also help.
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7 Answers
There’s not an evolutionary reason behind everything. They fly by beating their wings, that makes a sound. They might, in fact, be better off if it didn’t make a sound but it does. It’s kind of sort of like asking why were helicopters designed to make sound. They weren’t necessarily designed with that in mind, but it happens.
As @syz ‘s link points out, there is a mating function to the buzz.
As for the increased swat risk, humans are a tiny part of the mosquito’s menu. Most, if not all, of its other menu items would be unable to make the cognitive connection between the buzz they hear and the itch that develops down the road. A bird won’t hear the buzz and realize that it’s about to become a meal. The mosquitoes that end up getting swatted by us are such a rediculously small portion of the population that the mating advantages of the buzz must outweigh the increased swat risk.
I would have guessed that it was for mating purposes or locating mates of the right species, but I see @syz found it first.
Also, bear in mind that while traits that help a species reproduce tend to stay in the genome, and those that hinder do not, those that don’t help or harm survival or mating success don’t vanish at all. There is no drive either way to increase or decrease it’s prevalence if it has no effect on survival or reproduction.
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