A video of a biologist feeding his blood to mosquitoes daily has gone viral on social media. The footage shows him voluntarily putting his hand inside a mosquito-filled box. Biologist Perran Ross, who is researching mosquitoes, says someone has to feed the creatures and took it upon himself to do so.
His video is shared on the Instagram page 60secdocs. The page tells stories of people from around the world through videos in under one minute.
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“In addition to conducting research on mosquito traits and their lifespans, the job of Mosquito-Man, (aka Dr Perran Ross) as an experimental biologist includes sticking his arm inside mosquito cages and letting them bite for ten seconds. His biggest haul was 15,000 mosquito bites,” reads the caption posted along with the biologist's video.
In the video, Ross puts a thin glove on his hand and sticks it inside a glass box filled with mosquitoes. As soon as he inserts his hand, the mosquitos sit on his hand and start sucking his blood. When he takes his arm out, it is filled with numerous mosquito bites. In the video, he also shares why he does it.
Take a look at the entire video here:
{{/usCountry}}In the video, Ross puts a thin glove on his hand and sticks it inside a glass box filled with mosquitoes. As soon as he inserts his hand, the mosquitos sit on his hand and start sucking his blood. When he takes his arm out, it is filled with numerous mosquito bites. In the video, he also shares why he does it.
Take a look at the entire video here:
{{/usCountry}}Since being shared, the video has collected more than 4.1 lakh views - and counting. The share has further accumulated nearly 7,100 likes. People posted varied comments while sharing the video.
What did Instagram users say about this video?
“This is literally my version of hell,” posted an Instagram user.
“Hi, I’m also a PhD medical entomologist who works with mosquitoes. They make artificial feeders that keep you from having to do this,” shared another.
“What I want to know is if he is building up a tolerance against the itching!?” wondered a third.
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“Instead of having to go through getting bitten, would it be feasible to do a blood draw and set it out in a dish for them instead? Like putting some anti-clotting additive in it to prevent it from coagulating? Or would that deter the mosquitoes?” wrote a fourth.
According to his personal website, Dr Perran Ross is a “postdoctoral researcher in the Pest and Environmental Adaptation Research Group (PEARG) at the Bio21 Institute and the University of Melbourne”.
He is presently conducting research on “the application of symbiotic bacteria (called endosymbionts) to control insect pests and disease vectors”.
What do you think about this video of a biologist putting his hand inside a mosquito-filled box to feed them?