Bugs on the windshield then and now

[Nic in Western NYS]

For us old timers (over 50): When you think back to driving or riding 30 years ago, were there more or fewer bugs splattered on your windshield than now all else being equal?  I saw this  https://e360.yale.edu/features/insect_numbers_declining_why_it_matters and wondered about people's experiences.

Best,
Nic

[yogidozer]

I didn't have a windshield 30 years ago 

[Nic in Western NYS]

I didn't have a windshield 30 years ago 

Feel free to substitute "teeth" for "the windshield"

 

[Mr Pootle]

It's happening in the UK too. Some say it's because vehicles are more aerodynamically shaped now, but I don't buy it. Older vehicles are less splattered too. I can't believe that neonicotinoids are as innocent as the agrochemical industry would have us believe.

[Zoom Zoom]

I'm not sure it is an easy answer. But, as developers fill and build on what was once wetlands for instance, the amount of space where insects can propagate has likely been reduced, at least in very populated areas.

I guess it depends on where you live/ride.

John Henry 

[Guzzi Gal]

I didn't live in a desert 30 years ago, like I do now.  Areas with more rainfall seem to have more suicidal winged things.

[jas67]

I frequently get splattered with insects, even on those cool, dry days, when you're riding along, being happy that your fact shield is clear of insects, you go through a gnat-ball and suddenly have a hundred of 'em on your shield.

And, why is it that the big juicy bugs always hit directly in front of one eye?

[Kiwi_Roy]

Growing up in Aotearoa it was moths, large ones over an inch long, billions of them.

Don't know what its like there now, Kiwi_Kev has killed off a few LOL

[Yukonica]

30 years ago I lived on Vancouver Island where bugs exist discretely. Now I live in the subarctic where caribou bury their muzzles in moss to avoid breathing in mosquitos. Definitely more bugs now.

[Triple Jim]

In my earlier days of riding, I lived in Bethesda, MD.  Now I'm in rural NC.  A lot more bugs splat on my face shield and clothes now.

[lorazepam]

Still riding the same general areas, and the bugs seem about the same. I have noticed less honey bees than there used to be.

[Chuck in Indiana]

No doubt there are fewer now.. but we live in a farming area. Very aggressive with the pesticides. Lightning bugs used to light up the fields at night. Now.. there are a few. Butterflys, crickets, grasshoppers, bees.. you name them..definitely fewer.

[Scud]

[Socalrob]

Nice thing about SoCal is the lack of bugs.  I go months between face shield cleanings.

[fotoguzzi]

I do know there are A LOT less frogs than when I was a kid.. they used to cover the roads on cool moist nights, never see that now.

[screamday]

30 years ago I was living in Florida. I hated love bug season. Now I live in SC....no love bugs, so I would say less bugs.   

[tazio]

Less night riding= Less bugs for me.
A cloud of Florida love bugs christened my freshly detailed bike years ago.
Louisiana at night was a slaughter house too.

[PJPR01]

Love bug season is in full effect here!!  One second of open visor on the helmet and you've got a mouth full of bugs!




images shares

[Sasquatch Jim]

 It is probably because I have killed off most of them by swatting them with my face when riding.
 However, imidacloprid, acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, nithiazine, thiacloprid and thiamethoxam ain't
 good for people either.