MadSci Network: Zoology
Query:

Re: if a moquito bites a drunk person will it become drunk itself?

Date: Tue May 10 09:49:24 2005
Posted By: Elsa Cade, Science Education Instructor/entomologist
Area of science: Zoology
ID: 1112046382.Zo
Message:

No. I don't think the small amount of alcohol in the blood would get mosquitos 
drunk. The 
amount of alcohol in the blood taken up by the mosquito would be very small and 
maybe add a 
tiny amount of calories to it. Like a Bloody Mary! But really, being drunk is 
about how alcohol 
affects the  human brain.  While insect and human brains are different they can 
be used to study 
the efects of alcohol on the brain.

 "Alcohol affects bees and humans in similar ways – it impairs motor 
functioning along with 
learning and memory processing," said Julie Mustard, a study co-author and a 
postdoctoral 
researcher in entomology at Ohio State University.  "The honey bee nervous 
system is similar to 
that of vertebrates," said Geraldine Wright, a study co-author and a 
postdoctoral researcher in 
entomology at Ohio State.

 However, if there was too much alcohol, the mosquito wouldn't drink the blood. 
Mosquitos like 
blood not alcohol so the amount of alcohol in the blood would have to be in a 
small enough 
amount to not to deter the mosquito from biting.  You don't see mosquitos 
attacted to beer, 
drosophila maybe, or wasps, but not mosquitos.
In the bee experiment, they were fed food with alcohol but with much higher 
concentrations than 
would be in the blood  of a drunk person. If there were similar levels of 
alcohol in the blood the 
person would be dead from alcohol poisoning.

Here is some research about fruit fly behavior  and alcohol. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/110565.stm

study on inebriated bees! http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041025123121.htm<
/a>



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