A thing of the past. Windscreens black with insect bodies.

[astarsdad]

Darrenm referred to this subject in his post. Tree Sparrow decline reasons? some thoughts

At one time within living memory if you took a rural car journey in late spring to mid summer your car windscreen would be black with insect bodies at the end of it but this in most areas seems to be a thing of the past.

I do not do as much driving now as I did 30 years ago, but I have noticed the same thing. In those days you could drive for an hour at night on a motorway and not see another vehicle! Years ago, I regularly had to had to stop my vehicle and wash the windsreen clear of flys and insects bodily fluids. The windscreen would actually splat when I hit a juicy cricket or dragonfly. It doesn't happen now. Also, now I don't hit any birds accidentally (not that I would do intentionally...except for a magpie) It did worry me at the time that the cumlative effect of all our 'road kill' could have an adverse effect in the future. A lot of people blame predation and farming methods for declining species. How much has this contributed?
There are about 28 million vehicles on the road at present as opposed to 7 million in 1980.
Is the reason for my nice clean windscreen, that the vehicles ahead of me are mopping the insects and hitting the birds, before I encounter them?

Are we all killing less creatures individually and a lot more collectively?

Terry

[bigdave60dog]

I`m sure that you are right about road kill for all wildlife groups -well the non aquatic ones anyway-.
In 1987 I left farming and went to university for a career change. I eventually graduated and took a job in a rural Market Town to start in August. On my first day I noticed a dead Grey Squirrel on the roadside just by where I parked my car. A weeks later it was still there. I could not understand why it had not been eaten by maggots.
This seem to be the norm these days. The vertebrate bodies linger around for days or weeks when previously these would have been heaving with maggots after two of three days and just skin and bone in say 8 days for grey squirrel.
Dave

[STYRBJORN]

There is a point against this idea that I haven't seen raised though. 30 years ago cars were likely to have flatter, more upright screens than today, and generally much poorer aerodynamics. Perhaps now the bugs "go with the flow" over the vehicle. I still get a lot of bugsplat on my visor if I take a country drive on a motor-bike!

As for roadkill birds and animals, perhaps it's evolution in action. We've killed the ones too stupid to get out of the way, and stupid dead beasts don't pass on the genes that make them stupid. Today's greys are the descendants of greys that didn't get run over.

[astarsdad]

Originally Posted by STYRBJORN

There is a point against this idea that I haven't seen raised though. 30 years ago cars were likely to have flatter, more upright screens than today, and generally much poorer aerodynamics. Perhaps now the bugs "go with the flow" over the vehicle. I still get a lot of bugsplat on my visor if I take a country drive on a motor-bike!

As for roadkill birds and animals, perhaps it's evolution in action. We've killed the ones too stupid to get out of the way, and stupid dead beasts don't pass on the genes that make them stupid. Today's greys are the descendants of greys that didn't get run over.

Good points styrbjorn. It would be interesting to hear from someone who drives a flat windscreen lorry.

[shadowx]

Speak for yourselves!

A blast through the lanes on a motorbike at any time during the summer is fraught with the ping and splat of insects! (And occasional quick ducking of the head to avoid a starling which then proceeds to empty its bowels on your shoulder as it performs a U turn inches from your face )

I dont do much evening riding but back in the warm spell in may I took a ride at around 8pm in the sun and my helmet was covered in gnat splat!

It also hurts being hit by a bee at 60mph, i think I know what paintball feels like now...

[STYRBJORN]

That's what I said! Bugsplat + visors=Yeugh!

[Elizabeth B]

Originally Posted by STYRBJORN

There is a point against this idea that I haven't seen raised though. 30 years ago cars were likely to have flatter, more upright screens than today, and generally much poorer aerodynamics. Perhaps now the bugs "go with the flow" over the vehicle.

Do "bumpers" and number plates have improved dynamics too? The screens weren't the only things to get covered with bugs.

[captaincarot]

there's alot of the reasoning that leads people to think magpies are responsible for songbird decline in the original post here.

cars don't get hit by bugs because the bugs were killed by insecticides in the fields, or their food plants were wiped out by large scale intensive monoculture. putting a strip of set aside round the edge of a field does little to increase bug populations if the field is then sprayed and the spray goes all over it.

fertilising livestock fields means that the grass out competes the "weeds" (the weeds actually being the insect food plants) couple this with more intensive grazing of more productive fields means they then lose their habitat.

hence less bugs.

[htcdude]

Originally Posted by STYRBJORN

There is a point against this idea that I haven't seen raised though. 30 years ago cars were likely to have flatter, more upright screens than today, and generally much poorer aerodynamics. Perhaps now the bugs "go with the flow" over the vehicle. I still get a lot of bugsplat on my visor if I take a country drive on a motor-bike!

I think this is true, my car is nearly 40 years old now and the windscreen is almost vertical, I get lots of bug splats if ever I go slightly off the main roads

Nige

[Jonners]

Originally Posted by Elizabeth B

Do "bumpers" and number plates have improved dynamics too? The screens weren't the only things to get covered with bugs.

Quite so Elizabeth. A few years ago the RSPB carried out its Big Bug Count by asking people to count the number of dead insects on their number plates. Bearing in mind that these will pretty much all be of a standard size and vertical, the results should be fairly sound. Read the BBC report on their findings here. As the OP suggests, insect numbers have indeed dropped significantly. Take a walk along any road in the countryside today and see how many dead insects you find along the side. 30 years ago I can remember finding dragonflies, butterflies, bumblebees and probably just ignored all the flies . I would guess the loss of habitat (wild verges, large mixed hedges, unkept ditches, field surrounds etc) may be to blame and maybe pesticides too.