A new study suggests that the deadly insects evolved their taste for human blood much earlier than previously thought, around when Homo erectus migrated into Southeast Asia Anopheles  mosquitoes are major malaria vectors. James Gathany / CDC Mosquitoes aren’t just annoying. The pesky insects are also the world’s deadliest animal . Their bites facilitate the spread of malaria, dengue fever and other fatal diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of people annually. Most mosquitos don’t actually bite humans—only a small fraction of the 3,500 known species drink our blood. But understanding when and how these mosquitoes evolved to seek out humans might help scientists combat mosquito-borne illnesses. Now, it turns out that the insects’ taste for human blood dates back to more than one million years ago, according to a new analysis of mosquito DNA, published in the journal Scientific Reports last week. Did you know? Why are some people more prone to mosquito bites?…