tone deaf mosquitos can't get no play

just in case you missed it on NPR this morning, something cool including science, disease-carrying mosquitos, and music...

Scientists found that the mosquito responsible for spreading Dengue fever (Aedes aegypti for all the McMilions out there who just looove Latin) uses the pitch generated by it's wing speed to select mating partners. The female's wings generate a pitch around a G, and in order for a male to win her affections, he has to adjust his wing speed to about the D above the female's pitch. That's cool in and of itself. But here's the kicker-- he has to do it really well. I can imagine you're all on the edge of your seats, probably asking "How well!?" aloud, leaving your co-workers wondering what you're so excited about. So I'll tell you how well. The male has to adjust his wing speed to generate the exact pitch necessary for the harmony to produce a specific overtone. (If you don't know what an overtone is-- that's also cool. I'll put it in an informal footnote at the end, but suffice it to say the male has to have an awesome sense of pitch). The female won't mate with the male until she detects the correct overtone.

What does this mean? Why does this matter? Eh, it might not. (Although it might justify swatting/squashing the harmless, but mildly annoying, guys that play their guitars on the quad to impress the ladies. In their defense, at least they aren't spreading Dengue fever. Yet.)

Anyways, I'm always on the lookout for science that people might find interesting-- so maybe this qualifies.

And now the footnote about overtones:
Put shortly and simply, overtones are "extra" notes that you can hear (if you listen very carefully) when two or more notes are played that harmonize just right. Nobody is actually playing the overtones, they're just an acoustic phenomenon. A lot of times, it's what makes the difference between a really good choir or instrumental piece, and a really great one. Anyways, that's the short explanation. For the details, try Wikipedia. You can never get too much Wikipedia.

w00t.