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I forget where I was reading about this but it was a trucker commenting on this. He had been driving trucks since the 70's supposedly and everyone was saying ho

I forget where I was reading about this but it was a trucker commenting on this. He had been driving trucks since the 70's supposedly and everyone was saying how there are no bugs on the windshields. He said he noticed that it came in waves. Some years, tons of bugs, others none. Now I know this is some unverified person on the internet that I can't find the source to, but it was interesting to hear if true.

UI_at_80x24 8y ago
That really is accurate to all animal (humans notwithstanding) populations. Personal anecdote: I live in the Great Lakes region. Every spring Fish Flys [1] would swarm over every exterior surface and especially congregate near light sources. Some years were worse then others, and one particularly bad year I had to take a snow-shovel to clear the gas-station I worked at because the cars (and us workers) were slipping on the carpet that their bodies made. The piled-mass of bodies was as big as a snow-bank. And other years would pass and I would hardly notice that the 'season' had come & gone. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayfly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayfly
- stallmanite 8y ago
  I don’t know if there’s a reason that they’re bucking the trend but I live in the Great Lakes region as well and the population of eagles is doing crazy good. I’d never seen one before the year 2000 or so and now see then probably weekly. I realize eagles are not insects but just an observation on a wild animal population that seems to be doing well.
throwaway5752 8y ago
Probably true on small enough scales, but this seems to be a much more large scale phenomenon (based on the article it's international & multi-decade)
Ensorceled 8y ago
Well, I grew up in northern Ontario and we were talking about it at my family reunion and EVERYBODY remarked how few bugs there were these days compared to when we were kids. June Bugs, moths, grasshoppers ... every species has been hit. And this is all across Ontario; Kenora to Toronto, Sault Ste. Marie to Ottawa.
- 3pt14159 8y ago
  Same. I spent summers there too. Anywhere close to humans has been slammed. I used to have trouble sleeping because of how loud the frogs were at the pond by the lake. There were tens of thousands of them. Might be a hundred at the same pond today. The Anthropocene isn't going to last.
  - Ensorceled 8y ago
    Or crickets! I can't remember the last time I heard a cricket let alone the steady din of a field full of them.
jandrese 8y ago
I wonder if it has anything to do with that intense extended cold snap we had last winter? I seem to recall it was record setting and it happened near the end of the winter.

UI_at_80x24 8y ago

That really is accurate to all animal (humans notwithstanding) populations. Personal anecdote: I live in the Great Lakes region. Every spring Fish Flys [1] would swarm over every exterior surface and especially congregate near light sources. Some years were worse then others, and one particularly bad year I had to take a snow-shovel to clear the gas-station I worked at because the cars (and us workers) were slipping on the carpet that their bodies made. The piled-mass of bodies was as big as a snow-bank. And other years would pass and I would hardly notice that the 'season' had come & gone. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayfly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayfly

stallmanite 8y ago
I don’t know if there’s a reason that they’re bucking the trend but I live in the Great Lakes region as well and the population of eagles is doing crazy good. I’d never seen one before the year 2000 or so and now see then probably weekly. I realize eagles are not insects but just an observation on a wild animal population that seems to be doing well.

throwaway5752 8y ago

Probably true on small enough scales, but this seems to be a much more large scale phenomenon (based on the article it's international & multi-decade)

Ensorceled 8y ago

Well, I grew up in northern Ontario and we were talking about it at my family reunion and EVERYBODY remarked how few bugs there were these days compared to when we were kids. June Bugs, moths, grasshoppers ... every species has been hit. And this is all across Ontario; Kenora to Toronto, Sault Ste. Marie to Ottawa.

3pt14159 8y ago
Same. I spent summers there too. Anywhere close to humans has been slammed. I used to have trouble sleeping because of how loud the frogs were at the pond by the lake. There were tens of thousands of them. Might be a hundred at the same pond today. The Anthropocene isn't going to last.
- Ensorceled 8y ago
  Or crickets! I can't remember the last time I heard a cricket let alone the steady din of a field full of them.

jandrese 8y ago

I wonder if it has anything to do with that intense extended cold snap we had last winter? I seem to recall it was record setting and it happened near the end of the winter.