SCENT - SATIONAL:

Next time a mosquito is buzzing you don’t just assume he’s after your blood as he may be after your nachos. Research has revealed that the rascally little mozzies are in fact drawn to the aroma which is produced via the ammonia and amino acids in the cheese.

But I Thought Mosquitoes Were Just BBQ Wrecking Little Bloodsuckers

All of us have probably forgotten the repellent enough times to realise that mosquitoes feed off our blood. They have a finely tuned habit of tracking us down and then attaching themselves to us for a nice little mozzie sized schooner of Type O.

If you’re lucky and observant enough, you may have also seen mosquitoes try and feed on your cheese plate when it has been left out for them. They can be witnessed trying to shove their Proboscis into the cheese, often with little success.

Are Mozzies Cheese Connoisseurs or Simply Confused

Well, mosquitoes definitely can’t feed off cheese. However, they can become confused between the smell of cheese and the smell of their actual meal ticket, which is us humans.

Every person, no matter how hard they scrub in the shower or how much designer cologne they splash on, emits a body odour. The odours are a byproduct of the waste process that is continually going on in our bodies.

In a similar fashion cheeses emit odours that are not dissimilar to those that we humans emit. The scent of cheese comes from a protein called casein, which breaks down into ammonia and amino acids when it's exposed to bacteria or enzymes. This odour is enough to confuse the mozzie and send him on a futile mission to extract blood from cheese.

Are All Cheeses As Stinky Good To Mosquitoes

Not all cheeses are made the same, even when it comes down to how compelling smelly they are for mozzies. Some cheeses are more likely to attract mosquitoes and certain cheeses can attract specific mosquito species.

For example the classic malaria carrying Anopheles Gambiae mosquito, famed for its attraction to biting people’s ankles, is also highly attracted to Limberger cheese. For cheese buffs in the know, Limburger is famously stinky and has often been described as having a powerful “foot-like” odour. No wonder the little Anopheles Gambiae finds the smell so appealing, when they think the foot-like odour of the Limburger is going to deliver them in close proximity to a delicious human ankle.