A mosquito's tiny, low-weight body is the key to its ability to survive flying in the rain, according to scientists.
A team from the Georgia Institute of Technology filmed the insects as they collided with raindrops.
This showed that their bodies put up so little resistance that, rather than the drop of water stopping in a sudden, catastrophic splash, the mosquito simply combined with the drop and the two continued to fall together.
The team report their findings in PNAS.
As well as helping explain how the insects thrive in damp, humid environments, the research could ultimately help researchers to design tiny, flying robots that are just as impervious to the elements.
"I hope this will make people think a little bit differently about rain," said lead researcher David Hu.
"If you're small, it can be very dangerous. But it seems that these mosquitoes are so small that they're safe."
Dr Hu is interested in understanding completely the "tricks" that insects use to survive being so small.
After repeated attempts at what he described as the most difficult game of darts ever, he and his colleagues managed to hit flying mosquitoes with drops of water and capture footage of the result.
Each droplet was between two and 50 times the weight of a mosquito, so what they saw surprised them.
Describing the the results, Dr Hu cited the Chinese martial art of Tai chi.
Continued: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18294324
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