06/04/2024
Makes you think!
Younger people may not know, but any older age people remembers well that until just over 20 years ago, any car trip on most roads meant a windshield covered in bugs crushed by impact. Today this no longer happens in the same way.
It may seem great to travel with a clean windshield. But doesn't that tell you anything? Where did the insects go?
Research shows that there is a large-scale decline in insects, and that these biological entities may be more vulnerable than we think. This study has made popular news for suggesting that 40% of all insect species are in decline and could disappear in the coming decades.
Factors behind the decline include human-caused habitat changes, as well as deforestation and conversion of natural habitats for agriculture. Along with agriculture comes the use of chemicals such as herbicides, fungicides and pesticides. Insecticides, as expected, harm non-target species, and neonicotinoids have been implicated in the global decline of bees.
Climate change also plays an important role, especially in extreme weather conditions such as droughts, which will likely increase in intensity in the coming years as a result of human activity.
It is well known that the aerodynamic design of current vehicles plays an important role in the impact of insects on the windshield, however, the problem with insects goes beyond that.
Credit: respective author
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