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Have you ever wondered what happens to mosquitoes in the rain? A raindrop is, like, 50 times heavier than those little suckers. So getting hit by one has gotta hurt, right?
Well, not so much. Because researchers at Georgia Tech have found that the bugs are so light, speeding water drops simply brush them aside, without imparting much force. The results appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [Andrew K. Dickerson et al., "Mosquitoes survive raindrop collisions by virtue of their low mass"]
Previous studies have shown that precipitation can be a real pain for lots of winged critters. Bats expend twice as much energy flying through a storm as in clear skies. But what about bugs no bigger than the raindrops themselves?
Researchers used high-speed video to watch mosquitoes wingin’ in the rain—well, through a spray of mist in the lab. They saw that when a skeeter and a water droplet meet, the insect basically hitches a ride for a bit before peeling away off unharmed.
So the bugs go with the flow and offer little resistance. And the drop slows only slightly, keeping its kinetic energy rather than blasting the bug. So for storm-trooping skeeters, resistance is not only futile. It’s all wet.
—Karen Hopkin
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
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4 Comments
Add CommentGood web pages for reading and to see videos on this theme:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?nid=133841
http://www.nature.com/news/mosquitoes-don-t-let-the-rain-get-them-down-1.10775
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/06/raindrops-dont-swat-down-mosquit.html?ref=hp
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18294324 - In this web page we can read:
*Describing the the results, Dr Hu (the team leader scientist of the research) cited the Chinese martial art of Tai chi.
"There is a philosophy that if you don't resist the force of your opponent, you won't feel it," he explained.
"That's why they don't feel the force; they simply join the drop, become one item and travel together."*
Another good video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ88ny09ruM&feature=youtu.be
"Bats expend twice as much energy flying through a storm as in clear skies."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisstorm = American for "light rain".
"... the insect basically hitches a ride for a bit ..."
Doesn't that mean that the bug eventually ends up on the ground (under a drop)?
Would be interesting to see a slow-motion video. I'll look.
Hans Leander
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Hi Hans,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes, they would end up on the ground if you define hitching a ride for "a bit" as "until the drop reaches the ground".
I think most people would read that as "briefly".
Cheers!
@HansPL.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFrom this web page, http://www.gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?nid=133841 , we can read:
*The team (of scientists) also filmed free-flying mosquitoes that were subjected to rain drops. They found that upon impact the mosquito is adhered to the front of the drop for up to 20 body lengths.
“To survive, the mosquito must eventually separate from the front of the drop,” Hu (the team leader) said. “The mosquito accomplishes this by using its long legs and wings, whose drag forces act to rotate the mosquito off the point of contact. This is necessary, otherwise the mosquito will be thrown into the ground at the speed of a falling raindrop.”*