How do small insects not get hurt by raindrops?

Raindrops hardly hurt small insects such as mosquitoes. Even during rainfalls, they have no problem escaping the drops of rain and easily make their way out. More so, scientists have also discovered that mosquitoes tend to ride raindrops in certain cases as well to avoid getting hurt.

A major factor that comes into play, which helps small insects dodge death by raindrops, is their mass as well. An insect that has comparatively low mass will not be affected by a raindrop. However, if it were to be the size of a bird, then it definitely will.

Researchers were curious as well to find out how small insects such as mosquitoes were able to avoid getting hurt by raindrops. They found several reasons behind it. First, when a raindrop is falling, it pushes the air out of the way. The air that is displaced then pushes small insects such as mosquitoes out of the way, which ultimately helps them dodge raindrops.

The second reason has to do with the small insects pretty much knowing and doing what they need to do to avoid getting hit. Researchers even found out while testing the reactions of mosquitoes by using raindrops in a controlled environment that instead of avoiding the raindrops, mosquitoes hitched a ride on them. While they were about to touch the ground, they would release themselves thanks to their water repellent legs. Even if the mosquitoes were hit by raindrops, all that it did was push them away by a few body lengths but never really killed them. For them, it was just like getting hit by a feather.

The amount of mass present in mosquitoes helps them get away with almost everything, especially when it comes to bumping into something or being squashed. Since a mosquito weighs much less than a raindrop, the raindrop hardly loses any momentum upon colliding with the insect, which means that it will not expel much force onto the mosquito. However, if the mosquito were to be on the ground or even close to it, the results would be different.

In addition to that, most of the time, when mosquitoes do get hit by raindrops, it is mostly their wings or legs. And since, as already mentioned, they have water repellant legs, which allows them to pull away easily.

Moreover, have you ever thought as to how and why mosquitoes float on raindrops while other insects drown? The answer is the same. It is because mosquitoes are incredibly light in weight. Their weight as compared to the raindrops is quite less. Therefore, while they may be our biggest enemy, you cannot deny that they are pretty remarkable creatures.