I released a spider today and after launching it from about six feet up, which was about 72 times its height, I started to wonder about this.
EDIT: Took out a typo. I didn’t think anybody would care or notice but you know, Reddit.
In: Biology
There are some incorrect answers here because some commenters didn’t the question. OP did **not** ask **whether** bugs are damaged by falling, they asked at what point they **are** damaged by falling.
This means OP isn’t looking for a practical answer (because typically they aren’t damaged,) but for a theoretical answer.
And that answer is, when they fall a long enough distance in a vaccuum onto a hard enough surface. The damage done to an object when it lands at the end of a fall depends on how sturdy the object is and how quickly its speed changes. If you take a particular bug falling in air at terminal velocity, the only other factor is the amount of springiness there is to the surface it falls on. Drop it onto a soft cushion and it won’t be harmed. Even rocks will give a little, but not as much, so a bug landing on a rock might be hurt.
There is a caveat that the bug might have a cushion of air slowing it down right before it lands – depending on the shape of the bug it still might not be hurt. Now let’s remove that cushion by having the bug fall in a vaccuum. Then, there is also no terminal velocity, so as long as it has time to accellerate, the bug can fall faster. Even a short fall can now kill the bug, if it lands on a solid enough surface, and if it has survived being in a vaccuum.
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