its pure chance, its like bees but I have seen them hit.

Have you seaburngirl?....I was watching them trying to see one get hit but I didn't see a single one go down!! Oh well, it's nice to know they are not actually invincible!! Thanks!

So far as I am aware rain has no affect on aphids! We had a load of them flying around this evening.

We also have a lot of aphids about at the moment. It is shear bad luck, for the aphid, if it gets hit by a raindrop as the aphid is so light that the air pressure of the falling raindrop pushes it asid.

Oh Mrs MG, it's been awful here the past few days! Blooming plague of the things and most of them landing on my roses!!

Aphids dodging raindrops...the next great slow-motion nature video?
I sympathize with you folks. We used to get blizzards of sweet potato whiteflies around here when they defoliated the cotton fields in late summer, until the state Ag Dept. started releasing parasitoid wasps in the fields. They're still a minor nuisance, but not a Biblical plague, anymore.

We need parasitic wasps Tuq!!

Mr B...that's what my OH said...he said maybe the air in front of the raindrop pushes them out of the way.....wish I had a camera that could get a pic of that!!

Maybe a light drizzle would get them.

linda mite be close but your remembering one large thing. these are flying creatures that live in our countryside and have done longer than we have . there adjusted to avoid being hit . its easier to a tiny insect thow as the air is that much thicker to them and large things in thick air cause like wakes from boats naturaly blowing the little insects out of the way ie rain drops,snow etc .bumbble bees shouldnt realy be able to fly but they can but you can see that its not easy for them especialy fully loaded .i often see them after heavy rain and put them out of the way .people go out of there way to kill these and i dont agree with it . especialy as bees are a big reasen everything lives on our plannet .

you ever seen a fly trying to be swatted bye a hand . the fly gets knocked and blown uncontrolably from the air pressure plus it takes a degree of evasive action but you couldnt call it controled .

That is why a fly swatter with small holes in it is more effective than a hand, the air pressure wave does not exist so the fly cannot use it as an accelerant.
We get plagues of tiny (like 1 mm long and hair thin) black flies when they harvest the wheat. They get everywhere, even inside the glass on the picture frames.
As to aphids and small insects and rain, just think of the size of a molecule of air to the size of an insect, some of them must almost be able to walk on air rather than need to fly.

Thank you all....plenty of knowledge and wisdom in there! I have now learned how to swat a fly effectively, and yes, I can imagine the tiny aphids almost walking in the air.....that makes sense...they are so light!

We get those minuscule beasties too Owdb. Up here they are called thunder flies or harvest lice and yes - they can get everywhere. Really annoying!

Do they bite like the Berry Bugs MG?

No they just itch 'cause they get all over any exposed skin and inside your clothes too; they also get all over your kitchen work surfaces, windows sills, in the cats fur (which drives them to distraction) - everywhere.

Oh....I think they are what we called 'thunder flies' as kids now that i think about it!

definatly owd a bit like water with pond skaters on the surface tension of water .it is like a soup to the tiniest mites like bed bugs . the averadge bed has about 1.5 million of them in it what ever you do . should give you all an itchy sleep lol . that is why fly swats have holes in egsactly . it couldnt of been explained better .i get little tiny flies above my fish tank .

Northants has had a plague of Thunder flies but not many aphids this year. Some interesting answers to your question Karen :-))

Once the start cutting the barley in the field at the end of the garden there will be a plague of them here too...

Mind it is nothing to the cabbage whites which come off the fields of Oil seed Rape!

Yes Ann, interesting....we have no thunderflies here and I rarely see any.....strange!

I have to hoover them up in the house there are soooo many

Yes, I can believe that, we used to have terrible hoards of these in Lincs. where I grew up.