Mosquitoes can't fly against wind stronger than 2 MPH?

[black roses19]

I swear I remembered us having a discussion on this, but can't find it. A friend of mine says that it's physically impossible for a mosquito to fly against wind stronger than 2 miles per hour. If they try, their organs give out from the stress and they die.

Anyone heard this?

Thanks!

[Skeptic]

Originally Posted by black roses19

I swear I remembered us having a discussion on this, but can't find it. A friend of mine says that it's physically impossible for a mosquito to fly against wind stronger than 2 miles per hour. If they try, their organs give out from the stress and they die.

Anyone heard this?

Thanks!

Whether the wind is 2 miles an hour or 200 is irrelevant. The insect is only flying relative to the air around it. It doesn't matter if you are talking about a mozzie or a jumbo jet, the principle is the same.
We sometimes used a desk fan to blow over us at night, as it meant an insect-free nights sleep. (That was when I lived in Australia - mosquito central)

[rlobinske]

While mosquitoes are not extremely fast fliers, they can manage greater than 2 mph and wouldn't die of exhaustion from flying against such a light wind. Depending on species, some can fly for a considerable number of miles from their larval habitat.

Since host-seeking females heavily use olfactory clues, they will often fly upwind to follow a chemical plume of an attracting chemical, such as carbon dioxide. If they were killed from exhaustion from such a light wind, they wouldn't last very long.

At higher wind speeds, mosquito host seeking is reduced more by disruption of the scent plume than by disruption of physical flight.