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.
Humans differ from other primates due to their relatively large, permanent breasts, and their development has so far not been conclusively explained. According to a study conducted at the University of Oulu, Finland, the ...
Evolution
Feb 25, 2026
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From summer evenings to global disease prevention, mosquito repellents are a daily defense for billions of people, yet until now, scientists didn't fully understand how mosquitoes themselves perceive these "keep away" signals. ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 24, 2026
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Twisting upwardly on trees and other plants—along with houses and even lampposts—vines are a wonder of nature. However, their marvels mask their parasitic behavior: in attaching to other life forms, vines block sunlight necessary ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 2, 2026
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Male nursery web spiders (Pisaura mirabilis) use the sense of smell in their legs to find mates. Researchers at the University of Greifswald used an electron microscope to discover "olfactory hairs" on the legs of adult males. ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 3, 2025
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People who live in the tropical areas where Aedes aegypti mosquitoes reside have probably known for centuries, or even millennia—thanks to their itchy bites—that the mosquitoes hunt most often at dawn and dusk. A new study ...
Ecology
Nov 12, 2025
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Researchers at McGill University have identified bacteria that can indicate whether a blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) bloom is likely to be toxic, offering a potential water-safety early warning system. Blooms are becoming ...
Environment
Nov 3, 2025
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A new study from the School of Zoology at Tel Aviv University reveals that fruit bats employ a variety of strategies in their competition with other animals for food. The research team examined bat behavior in the presence ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 27, 2025
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Animals depend on their sense of smell to locate food, identify mates and evade danger. In mammals, olfactory perception typically relies on G protein–coupled receptor (GPCR) pathways. Insects, by contrast, use a distinct ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 11, 2025
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21
It's a familiar scene for many of us. A warm summer evening, a gentle breeze and then the inevitable high-pitched whine of a mosquito buzzing near your ear. For some, this is a fleeting annoyance, but for others, it means ...
Every living species on Earth has a unique geographical range, with some being widespread and others being very narrow. Several factors shape a species' range size—and one of them is the evolutionary age of a species.
Evolution
Aug 27, 2025
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