How Do Mosquitoes Fly During the Rain?

If you think that the rain will save you from mosquitoes, well think again! Contrary to what most people think, mosquitoes are actually quite resilient to the rain. Despite having bodies smaller than rain droplets, mosquitoes can easily traverse through stormy weather better than most modern-day aircraft. But how do mosquitoes do this exactly?

Do mosquitoes simply dodge each and every raindrop that comes their way? Or are they simply waterproof? What is their secret? And how do they do it?

Well, a team of scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology led by Dr. David Hu made some interesting findings. First, the team built an acrylic mesh cage that can contain the mosquitoes while allowing droplets of water to enter the cage.

The scientists then proceeded to hit the mosquitoes with tiny streams of water to simulate rainfall while using a high-speed camera to record six mosquitoes being hit by water.

Amazingly, all six of the recorded mosquitoes survived the barrage of water droplets and most of them were unfazed as if nothing happened. But the most interesting thing about the experiment were mosquitoes’ “strategy” of surviving the rain.

The team found out that instead of dodging the rain droplets, the mosquitoes simply let the rain droplets hit them. That’s crazy, right? To give you some context, a mosquito getting hit with a rain droplet is more or less equivalent to a man getting hit by a 3-ton object similar to that of a pickup truck!

After getting hit by the raindrop, the mosquito then allows the rain droplet to carry them as they approach the ground. After some time, the mosquito separates itself from the raindrop, and they use their wings and legs like parachutes or miniature sails to lift itself up in the air to take flight once more.

Dr. Hu stated that the way mosquitoes survive during the rain is very similar to the philosophy of the traditional Chinese martial art called “Tai Chi”. Tai Chi has this philosophy that you will not feel your opponent’s blow if you do not resist their attack. And the way mosquitoes go with the blow of the raindrops, is simply the perfect embodiment of this philosophy.

Of course, this is only half of the equation. The other reason why mosquitoes can do this is because of their anatomy and their design. Mosquitoes are designed to survive a lot of harsh conditions and stormy weather is just one of those conditions.

A mosquito’s legs and wings are designed to repel water. The video recorded by the camera revealed that water droplets rarely hit a mosquito’s core thanks to their very small size. Water droplets hitting the mosquito’s legs and wings simply bounce off thanks to their water-resistant properties. And the few water droplets that manage to hit the core aren’t enough to hurt the mosquito because they simply allow the raindrop to take them where they will separate themselves when it's about to hit the ground.

But the most important part of the experiment is what it can yield. Dr. Hu designed the experiment with an eye towards practical engineering. By studying how mosquitoes fly and survive in harsh storms, it may give future engineers an idea on how to construct resilient air vehicles that can be used for surveillance, transport, or other ways that we have not thought of yet.

We can learn a lot from studying the things around us. The little mosquito taught us the philosophy of non-resistance while also teaching us the practicality of its design. It's often the little things that we take for granted in life, just like the mosquito.