Extended Data Fig. 2: Temperatures of the behavioural setup and of a human hand and arm, and a heatmap of model outcomes under various host-seeking activities.

a, Air temperature recordings taken from a distance of 4 cm from the arena wall that housed the two Peltier plates used in the behavioural assay. A thin polyethylene film was placed 0.5 cm in front of the Peltier plates. The circles indicate the mean recorded air temperatures over a 5-minute recording period. The dashed lines indicate the maximum and minimum recorded temperatures during a 5-minute window. b, Same analysis as in panel ‘a’ without the polyethylene film. c, Comparison showing the sensitivity of the manual (Man.) versus the automated scoring method (Auto.) for the same experiments, n = 6 biological replicates. d, The input number of fictive mosquitoes used in the simulation ranged from 1 to 30. At each input number, the model was iterated 10,000 times. Simulation data were then analysed for the PI and the HSI. The interpretation of these data helped shape the minimum HSI used in this study (HSI = 5, red line). e, Temperature recordings over a 5-minute period at the cage mesh (red) and at the second polyethylene film (turquoise), which is placed 2 cm from the cage mesh. f, IR-preference assay performed with the first and second polyethylene films (2 cm and 4 cm from the cage mesh) and with just the first polyethylene film (4 cm from the cage mesh). Means ± SEMs (n = 6 biological replicates) Two-tailed Student’s t-test, n.s., not significant. g, IR thermography of a human hand and arm demonstrating non-homogenous skin temperatures. Exact P-values provided in Source Data.

Source Data