# Maximum Flying Altitude for Flies, Mosquitos etc. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 18, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-flying-altitude-for-flies-mosquitos-etc/816331 "2018-06-18T19:00:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-flying-altitude-for-flies-mosquitos-etc/816331/41 "2018-06-19T20:21:11Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Spiders (& other insects) like the smell of **mercaptan** (the odor that is added to propane). We’ll occasionally see one a few thousand feet up. > I guess they’re occasionally stowaways on other kinds of aircraft, too. 😉 [bold added] Isn’t that the username of a Doper physician here? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-flying-altitude-for-flies-mosquitos-etc/816331/42 "2018-06-19T23:40:46Z")
> [@razncain](#): > > Wouldn’t think so myself. Did they give the reasoning behind that? As above: because the bugs were used to searching for food at ground level. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-flying-altitude-for-flies-mosquitos-etc/816331/43 "2018-06-20T14:33:06Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > 😕 I live entirely on cheeseburgers and beer, and I routinely take walks in city parks; it doesn’t mean I’m finding an abundance of cheeseburgers and beer there, it just means I don’t need cheeseburgers and beer every moment of my life. Thanks for the irrefutable proof that there are no insects up there and anthropomorphic insectivorous birds are just enjoying the views during some non-feeding leisure. I withdraw my obviously incorrect hypothesis that birds might be up there eating them. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-flying-altitude-for-flies-mosquitos-etc/816331/44 "2018-06-20T14:58:01Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Thanks for the irrefutable proof that there are no insects up there and anthropomorphic insectivorous birds are just enjoying the views during some non-feeding leisure. I withdraw my obviously incorrect hypothesis that birds might be up there eating them. You didn’t propose a hypothesis that they _might_ be eating insects up there. you presented a logical conclusion that > [@jtur88](#): > > they must be finding an abundance of flying insects at several hundred feet. I didn’t refute the possibility, I refuted the certainty. They _may_ be eating abundant insects at high altitudes-above-terrain (though this seems doubtful, given the rest of the information in this thread), or they may be flying high for other reasons, as I have suggested. [Many animals, including birds, engage in play:](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982214011403) > [@Science Direct](#): > > Birds engage in three types of play. First, locomotor play, which includes all types of flight-related play such as aerial acrobatics, hanging and flying upside down, as well as the two examples in Figure 1. Ravens and raptors are the most frequent performers of locomotor play, displaying all sorts of acrobatic acts whilst flying. I would add high-altitude cruising (for insectivorous birds) to the list of locomotor play activities. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-flying-altitude-for-flies-mosquitos-etc/816331/45 "2018-06-20T18:03:04Z")
Small insects and the birds that eat them can be found thousands of feet up. The bugs are carried aloft by thermals and the birds follow them, taking advantage of the rising air, too. When flying in my glider I’ll keep an eye out for swallows/swifts as they are good thermal markers. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-flying-altitude-for-flies-mosquitos-etc/816331/46 "2018-06-20T18:29:01Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > … swallows/swifts as they are good thermal markers. Neat. Never thought of it that way, although this thread is generally pursuing the matter, but reversed, from the zoological-\>physical answer. Apropos, I always look for people swilling beer and stuffing themselves with cheeseburgers, because then I’ll know I’m in a city park. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-flying-altitude-for-flies-mosquitos-etc/816331/47 "2018-06-20T18:35:12Z")
ETA: I’m pretty sure in marine biology there’s a similar “\_cline” definition based on species habitation. Anyone know it offhand? ---
**Author:** ![Perderabo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Perderabo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perderabo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-flying-altitude-for-flies-mosquitos-etc/816331/48 "2018-06-21T19:46:11Z")
According to this page: [How High Can Insects Fly? | Live Science](https://www.livescience.com/55454-how-high-can-insects-fly.html) > [@](#): > > Scientists have collected locusts flying at heights of 14,764 feet (4,500 m); true bugs, stoneflies, mayflies, and caddisflies at altitudes over 16,404 feet (5,000 m); and flies and butterflies over 19,685 feet (6,000 m), according to Michael Dillon, a researcher with the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming. I wonder _how_ they collected those insects at those altitudes. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Perderabo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Perderabo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perderabo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-flying-altitude-for-flies-mosquitos-etc/816331/49 "2018-06-21T22:52:15Z")
Here is a rather old thread on the subject: [Insects at altitude - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=82793) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-flying-altitude-for-flies-mosquitos-etc/816331.md?page=2)