To,Oenothera pallidaDessert fields,The steppe of the Columbia Plateau,Echo Basin, Washington, US. My dear White Evening Primrose, I am writing this letter with the hope that it will reach you and that we can connect again soon. I want to let you know that I am in agony; my evenings without you are incomplete. I still remember the first time I met you, and you looked magical with flowers all over you. The air around me was saturated with your sweet fragrance, and that is how I found my way to you, conquering kilometers. We became friends in no time, and you generously gifted me with your pollen when I returned home. Lovely days… Things have changed now. It has been more than a week since we last met. I know you will be anticipating my arrival. However, dear friend, I have been unable to track your fragrance and navigate my way to you in the past few days. I feel blinded. I was so confused about what was happening that I fortunately met Dr. Chan and the team from The University of Washington. The team conducted experiments to study the effect of air pollutants on the association between pollinators and primrose flowers and recently published their findings in The Journal Science. I had a conversation with them about our situation, and what they shared was highly shocking. Let me explain. White evening primrose and Hawk moth. (Under creative commons license; https://www.flickr.com/photos/inannabintali/51312941087;https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hyles_gallii_-_Bedstraw_hawk-moth_) My dear Primrose, it was surprising to know that your smell is composed of a specific combination of different chemicals mentioned as bioactive compounds, and the recipe is unique among all flowers, it seems. Now, I know why you smell special, my friend! The scientists collected these bioactive compounds responsible for the floral scent using traps installed in the primrose fields. They analyzed the scent samples to identify the compounds and also for their potential to attract pollinators. They conducted wind tunnel experiments to study the compounds’ degradation rate by air pollutants like NO3 (Nitrate radical) and O3 (ozone). How this reaction affected the ability of hawkmoths to navigate the way to flowers was also studied. Illustration depicting the wind tunnel experimental setup The scientists discovered that nitrate radicals have a greater impact on certain chemicals like monoterpenes, which are crucial for attracting moths to flowers, compared to ozone pollutants. In these experiments, moths struggled to locate flowers when exposed to nitrate radicals. Nitrate radicals diminish a flower’s ability to emit scents that can effectively attract pollinators, reducing their reach and making them harder for moths to detect. Dear Primrose, After hearing all this information from Dr. Chan and the team, I know why I couldn’t find you, and I am heartbroken because there is no hope left. The human epoch has made our lives challenging. I don’t know if we will meet ever again. I miss our times together and will keep trying to find my way to you. Please hand over a letter of reply to Mr. Wind, who brought this letter to you. I am eagerly waiting to hear from you. Please do not forget me. With lots of love! Your FriendHawk Moth References Chan, J. K., Parasurama, S., Atlas, R., Xu, R., Jongebloed, U. A., Alexander, B., … & Riffell, J. A. (2024). Olfaction in the Anthropocene: NO3 negatively affects floral scent and nocturnal pollination. Science, 383(6683), 607-611. Arya K Ph.D. Student, Department of Plant Sciences, Manipal School of Life SciencesAbout the author: I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, and my Master’s degree is in Applied Microbiology. I am passionate about communicating science to a broader audience and believe that science tastes better when skillfully blended with the sweetness of art and the spices of storytelling.

Imagine you are trying to sleep in your cozy, dark room. Suddenly comes a mosquito humming an unpleasant song in your ears, and then the swatting begins. Have you ever wondered how these pesky insects brilliantly escape out of your hands, mostly even in pitch darkness? Are they relying on senses other than vision? A team of researchers from Wageningen University came up with an amusing answer to these questions. The hypothesis was that mosquitoes might depend on air movements for escape, especially when there is darkness around. Their observations have been recently published in the Current Biology journal.Now Let me invite your attention from the cozy bedroom to a magic show in which mosquitoes are the magicians, and the swat escape is their magic act. The researchers set up a stage for the magician to perform and then closely monitored to unravel the trick behind the act. The Stage The researchers planned two sets of experiments. The first aimed to determine the influence of air movements on the escape probability of the mosquitoes from the looming object. The flight maneuvers of the escaping mosquitoes were studied in the second experiment.The researchers conducted two sets of experiments with dedicated setups and procedures. The first experiment aimed to determine whether air movements influence the escape probability of malarial mosquitoes from looming objects while the second investigated the flight maneuvers of mosquitoes escaping from such objects. They arranged a customized flight arena with LED panels and a mechanical swatter with a disc. The swatter disc’s size was similar to a human hand, which replicated the looming object. Additionally, they integrated high-speed cameras to capture videos of flying mosquitoes. The magician and the script The scientists released some female malaria mosquitoes into a closed area and allowed them to fly freely. Inside the cage, they autocontrolled the light conditions and the triggering of the swatter based on the real-time position and velocity of the mosquitoes. The scientists calculated the forces exerted on the mosquito by the surrounding air during the escape. Image Courtesy: Cribellier et al. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.066) The Trick Finally, it’s time to reveal the trick. Mosquitoes evade swats by executing both active and passive movements. In active movements, they steer away from the approaching object, executing turns by adjusting the amount of their wing strokes and the frequency of their wing speed. During the passive phase, the escaping mosquito aligns its flight speed with the airflow produced by the swatter in a manner that the attacker-induced bow wave itself pushes it away from the danger. Implications and future directions Cribellier et al. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.066) noted that the evasive maneuvers of mosquitoes escaping from odor-baited traps are independent of airflow, unlike the mechanism employed to escape from looming objects. The reason for this disparity remains unknown, and elucidating it will offer valuable insights into enhancing trapping systems, thereby aiding in the control of malarial mosquitoes.So, next time when you whack a mosquito, remember that it is drifting away and escaping by taking a free ride you are offering unknowingly! Reference Cribellier, A., Camilo, L. H., Goyal, P., & Muijres, F. T. (2024). Mosquitoes escape looming threats by actively flying with the bow wave induced by the attacker. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.066. Arya K Ph.D. Student, Department of Plant Sciences, Manipal School of Life Sciences About the author: I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, and my Master’s degree is in Applied Microbiology. I am passionate about communicating science to a broader audience and believe that science tastes better when skillfully blended with the sweetness of art and the spices of storytelling.