DNA shows mosquitoes first fed on humans 2.9 to 1.6 million years ago
Feb 26th 2026
Genetic reconstruction places the first mosquito preference for early humans in Sundaland and links the change to hominin movements into Southeast Asia, with the leucosphyrus group adapting long before other mosquito lineages.
- Analysis of 38 mosquito genomes from 11 Anopheles leucosphyrus species dated the shift to human feeding between 2.9 and 1.6 million years ago.