The physics of mosquito takeoffs shows why you don’t feel a thing
Even when full of blood, the insect’s wings do the heavy lifting, so its legs barely need to push
UP AND AWAY A blood-bloated mosquito gets more than 60 percent of its takeoff force from its wings, helping it hoist its heavy body into the air and fly away undetected, as seen in this photomontage.
Florian Muijres/Wageningen Univ.