Theobald-1901

Guides

• Uranotaenia lowii

  Pale-footed Uranotaenia

  Uranotaenia lowii is a frog-biting mosquito distributed across the Americas. The species exhibits a unique phonotactic behavior: females are attracted to the acoustic calls of male frogs, specifically the barking tree frog (Hyla gratiosa). This represents the first documented case of a female mosquito being attracted to host sound rather than visual or chemical cues. The species inhabits lowland environments and has been documented using 450 Hz frequency detection via antennae to locate hosts.

  frog-bitingphonotaxisacoustic-attractionmosquitoCulicidaeCosta-RicaneotropicallowlandHyla-gratiosa450-HzTheobald-1901