A science blog with Eric Berger

How can mosquitoes fly in the pouring rain?


Have you ever wondered how mosquitoes fly in the rain?

Consider this: A typical raindrop has a mass 50 times that of the mosquito. That would be like flying a B-52 Stratofortress through a storm of 7,000-ton raindrops. Good luck.

Not an impediment to sucking blood.

So again, how do mosquitoes thrive in a rainstorm?

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have answered the question, at long last:

In this combined experimental and theoretical study, we measure the impact force between a falling drop and a free-flying mosquito. High-speed videography of mosquitoes and custom-built mimics reveals a mosquito’s low inertia renders it impervious to falling drops.

Drops do not splash on mosquitoes, but simply push past them allowing a mosquito to continue on its flight path undeterred. We rationalize the force imparted using scaling relations based on the time of rebound between a falling drop and a free body of significantly less mass.

Essentially, then, the energy of the falling raindrop imparts a puff of air to move the mosquito out of the way.

Why am I a little disappointed?

(Found via @gmusser)

Categories: Animal kingdom
Eric Berger

26 Responses

  1. jgolf_99 says:

    “How can mosquitoes fly in the pouring rain?”
    only one question……what is this “pouring rain” that you speak of?

  2. mark says:

    What I can understand is even with no rain the Mosquito’s are worse than ever.

    • Eric Berger says:

      Mark, my experience this year is that mosquitoes haven’t been quite as bad as in some years, although they’re definitely still out there. It’s also important to remember that not all species of local mosquitoes are dependent on rain to hatch.

  3. Moreyon says:

    “Essentially, then, the energy of the falling raindrop imparts ‘of’ puff of air to move the mosquito out of the way.”

    … imparts “of” puff of air?

    Maybe: “imparts ‘a’ puff of air”.

  4. MikeGee says:

    Now that you have that all figured out, please tell us how a hummingbird can fly in a pouring rain!

  5. Bob says:

    Not satisfied with the explanation. If one raindrop pushes it, then the raindrops in front surely have better chances of hitting smack the pest.

    • Ben says:

      It’s the square-cube principle at work. As you get larger, muscle strength increases quadratically while mass increases cubically. This means relative strength is inversely proportional to size. This is why ants can pick up things so much larger than themselves.

      While proportionally it is similar to a human walking through Niagra Falls, the mosquito has such a low size (about 1000x smaller) that flying through a raindrop is like a human walking through a small waterfall.

    • Newsworthy says:

      Ben, wow man….if I were stoned that answer, walking through a waterfall….would be cosmic man….hehe….good stuff man.

  6. Bill in Houston says:

    I’ve found you can pick one off with a strong enough spray from the garden hose.

  7. 3v3 says:

    I have just as many mosquitoes as ever in my yard this year, and what’s worse, they come in the house more than ever—probably looking for water! They are the tiny ones that bite all day and night—they never rest. Hate them.

  8. s says:

    When Ike’s eye came over me, I strolled outside to be immediately bitten by a mosquito. The winds were 120 mph according to my neighbors wind gauge. That being said, the puff of wind from the rain drop + the puff of wind from a hurricane = mosquito still flying.

  9. saved says:

    Thanks, good article neat information. I just hope this was not tax payer money spent to get the answer.

  10. RONALD777 says:

    The only good mosquito is a dead mosquito.

  11. Newsworthy says:

    I think mosquito’s fly between the rain drops….ergo…they don’t get wet.

  12. StanleyS says:

    Another interesting question might be: during a typical downpour, how many times per minute (or per hour) will a typical mosquito actually get hit by a raindrop?

    I ask this because the actual volume of space occupied by falling rain drop water is pretty small compared to air volume not occupied by water. So in terms of mosquito time, getting hit is probably a fairly rare occurrence.

  13. Stoic_Kitty says:

    Mosqitas Is Smart.

  14. Stephen says:

    Nice post. Not so liberalized as yesterday. 2.65 million indeed!

    • StanleyS says:

      3v3, SgtDave, Jen:

      Be sure today to go back to the Weekly Weather and see Stephen’s discussion on Eric’s off-the-cuff statistic.

  15. Michael S says:

    Thank god! Now I can sleep at night.

  16. Ralphy says:

    I live in Katy. Should we get ready?

  17. Jim says:

    To make this work we have to see air the way mesquitos see it.
    I figure it is a lot like Karo syrup to them. With that in
    mind a heavy, dense raindrop would be pushing a big bow wake.

    My trouble is, they are all pushing a big bow wake.
    So tell me again how that mosquito can fly in rain.

  18. Ed C says:

    When was the last time you saw one flying in the rain? I’ve been bitten in the rain but I was standing under something to keep from getting wet. I can’t seem to recall ever being taken out in a storm when I was standing in one.

    Has anybody ever seen a mosquito flying in a storm?

  19. Newsworthy says:

    This article is still here like an annoying mosquito that you can’t kill….