this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2024
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Asklemmy
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what happened to the bugs?
It's two things, one personal vehicles are designed to bend air around them rather than slice through or just brute force through air resistance. This means that more bugs are pushed out of the way with newer vehicles now, compared to older vehicles which just had the bug hit the windshield. The second and much more impactful reason is because the insect population has dropped significantly in the last 25 years.
Why has that happened?
Pesticides
Climate change
Less flowers
Pesticides
Accelerating climate change and an increase in consumer car culture (more cars on road to kill bugs = less bugs)
fluid dynamics simulated on computers helped air-bending, that's cool. i knew about the bees disappearing, but bugs in general too?
Unfortunately yes. This story by NPR isn't an academic source but it's definitely worth listening to. On average bug populations have declined by 2% a year for decades or more in some areas, less in others. It's an average.
Now truthfully, whether or not a declining bug population is the main cause of fewer bugs on our windshields or if it's better aerodynamics I don't know. What I do know is a more aerodynamic vehicle isn't something I need to worry about, a declining bug population is.
we need our bugs! although I was never convinced in that all insectizoid parasites are necessary, like any that affect Me, or Me-Kind
Bees are just cute. Its insects in general, and all are important. I mean insecticides, fungicides and herbicides are there for a reason.
Our soil is completely dead often, without animals, fungi and herbs. And so is the ecosystem
We managed to kill off a third of the entire bug population during the last 25 years or so.
Huh, I think they all flew to Mexico, I did a road trip from Mexico to Austin TX recently and I do recall having not many bugs in my windshield in the USA... But back home to Mexico they all started to appear LMAO.
More of a the natural habitat of insects are still thriving in Mexico and the habitat being wiped elsewhere.