A single
raindrop
can weigh
50
times as
much as a
mosquito.
50 SPIRIT JUNE 2013
The itchy welts they leave
behind are a big pain, but
mosquitoes themselves are
quite minute, weighing only
2.5 milligrams—substantially
less than even a drop of water.
So how do skeeters survive
the occasional summer rainstorm? A study by Georgia
Tech chalks up their toughness
to a few essential attributes:
a super-strong exoskeleton
and low mass. That, and
being able to go with the flow.
“Raindrops fall 10 times faster
than mosquitoes can fly, so occasionally the two collide and
the mosquito is pinned to the
drop,” says researcher David
Hu, an assistant professor of
mechanical engineering and
biology at GT. “But not for very
long. Because their legs and
wings are so long, they create
drag, which allows the insect
to pull away.” Resilient little
buggers, aren’t they?
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM NOWACK
The Numbers
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spirit Magazine - June 2013