冬去春來，天氣轉(zhuǎn)暖，再過一陣子蚊蟲又要開始“上班”了。如果你是招蚊體質(zhì)，穿衣服記得避開蚊子最喜歡的顏色，以免被蚊子“獨寵”。

While there are plenty of factors that go into how attractive you are to mosquitoes, new research has found the colors you’re wearing definitely play a role.

很多因素都可能導致你成為“招蚊體質(zhì)”，但是新研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，你穿的衣服顏色也起到了一定作用。

That’s the main takeaway from a new study published in the journal Nature Communications. For the study, researchers from the University of Washington tracked the behavior of female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes when they were given different types of visual and scent cues. The researchers put the mosquitoes into small test chambers and exposed them to different things, like a colored dot or person’s hand.

這是發(fā)表在《自然·通訊》期刊上的一項新研究得出的主要結(jié)論。來自華盛頓大學的研究人員在這項研究中追蹤了雌性埃及伊蚊在被給予不同視覺和氣味線索時的行為模式。研究人員把蚊子放在小試驗箱中，然后讓它們接觸不同的東西，比如一個彩色圓點或一個人的手。

In case you're not familiar with how mosquitoes find food, they first detect that you’re around by smelling carbon dioxide from your breath. That prompts them to scan for certain colors and visual patterns that could indicate food, the researchers explained.

如果你不了解蚊子是如何覓食的，這里要告訴你，蚊子最開始察覺到你的存在是因為聞到了你呼出的二氧化碳。研究人員解釋道，這促使它們尋覓和食物相關(guān)的特定顏色和視覺形態(tài)。

When there was no odor like carbon dioxide in the test chambers, the mosquitos pretty much ignored the colored dot, not matter what hue it was. But once researchers sprayed carbon dioxide in the chamber, they flew toward dots that were red, orange, black, or cyan. Dots that were green, blue, or purple were ignored.

如果試驗箱里沒有二氧化碳的氣味，蚊子很可能會對彩色圓點視而不見，不論是什么顏色的圓點。但是研究人員只要在試驗箱里噴灑二氧化碳，蚊子就會飛向紅色、桔色、黑色或藍綠色的圓點。與此同時，蚊子對綠色、藍色或紫色的圓點視而不見。

“Light colors are perceived as a threat to mosquitoes, which is why many species avoid biting in direct sunlight,” entomologist Timothy Best says. “Mosquitoes are very susceptible to dying by dehydration, therefore light colors may instinctually represent danger and prompt avoidance. In contrast, darker colors may replicate shadows, which are more likely to absorb and retain heat, allowing mosquitoes to use their sophisticated antenna to locate a host.”

昆蟲學家蒂莫西·貝斯特說：“淺色被蚊子視為威脅，這是各類蚊蟲不在太陽直射下叮咬的原因。蚊子很容易脫水而死，因此淺顏色可能代表著危險，促使蚊子本能地避開。相比之下，深色與陰影更接近，更容易吸收和保留熱量，這讓蚊子可以動用它精密的觸角來鎖定叮咬對象。”

If you have the option of wearing lighter or darker clothes when you know you'll be going into an area with lots of mosquitoes, Best recommends going with the lighter choice. “Dark colors stand out to mosquitoes, whereas light colors blend in.” he says.

當你知道自己要去一個蚊子很多的地方時，如果你有淺色衣服和深色衣服可以選擇，貝斯特建議你選擇淺色的衣服。他說：“蚊子可以識別深色衣服，但卻識別不出淺色衣服。”

How to prevent mosquito bites

如何預防蚊蟲叮咬

Apart from avoiding colors mosquitoes like (red, orange, black, and cyan) when you’re going into areas where these bugs are known to lurk, there are other things you can do to lower your risk of being bitten by a mosquito, which include:

當你去蚊子多的地方時，除了避免穿蚊子喜歡的顏色（紅色、桔色、黑色、藍綠色），還有其他幾種做法可以降低被蚊蟲叮咬的幾率。

Using insect repellent

用殺蟲劑

Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants

穿長袖襯衫和長褲

Get rid of standing water around your home or empty items that hold water like bird baths, toys, and planters weekly

每周定期清理住宅附近的死水，或倒掉鳥池、玩具和花盆等容器里的水

Use screens on your windows and doors

安裝紗窗和紗門

Each of these protective measures will contribute in decreasing your likelihood of getting bitten. And, if you're able to wear something other than red or dark colors, even better.

這些防護措施都能減少你被蚊蟲叮咬的幾率。當然，如果你不穿紅色或深色的衣服就更好了。

英文來源：雅虎新聞

翻譯&編輯：丹妮