Host-seeking behavior is a biologically programmed process in which a parasitic or hematophagous organism locates and orients toward a suitable host using multimodal sensory cues. It typically integrates olfactory, visual, thermal, hygrosensory, and sometimes mechanosensory inputs, processed by specialized peripheral receptors and central neural circuits to drive directed locomotion or flight. In arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes or ticks, host-seeking behavior is modulated by internal physiological state (e.g., gonotrophic cycle, starvation), circadian rhythms, and environmental conditions, and is critical for successful blood feeding, host-parasite interaction dynamics, and transmission of pathogens within ecological and epidemiological systems.
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