There seems to be a basic declining trend in bugs of all kinds around the world. And one of the indicators of this disturbing trend, which has ecosystemic implications, is less bugs on automobile windshields.
Wait, why are there so few dead bugs on my windshield these days?
This article has text and figures. Here's some text:
"Bugs are also just harder to measure than more widely tracked animals. Their numbers swing wildly year to year, season to season, even sometimes day to day. And while the overall trend leads inexorably downward, it’s not uncommon for individual studies to show a local insect population rising."
One other factor; people drive less on rural roads where there are larger insect populations. So we aren't driving as much where the bugs are. Decades ago on family vacations, before the interstates were finished, our drives on the highways would result in a plethora of bug guts on the windshield.
So things have changed, in more ways than one. It's not all about less bugs, though with less wetlands (especially less swamps, bogs, and eutrophic ponds), there are probably less bugs.
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