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Decline of Bugs

ragtoplvr

New member
Out of fear of posting a “political” site not posting any links. Seems environmental sites often construed as political. You can google for yourself.

Since I resumed riding after my daughter was grown, when I have a day to kill, I love to get up at day break and ride in Arkansas. At times in the summer evening was almost unreadable from the bugs.

I quickly learned to carry a Windex soaked rag with me because of bugs. I have older riding gear that is badly stained by bug juices. That just does not happen anymore. Have others noticed, the flying bug population is crashing. The street lights used to be nearly obscured by insects and bats swooping in for dinner. I kept a bug zapper near the garden. Had to fight tobacco hornworms on the tomatoes. Corn ear worms and potato bugs could ruin a crop. June bugs and grasshoppers were everywhere, and they hurt. Walking barefoot was an exercise in not getting stung.

Have you noticed the change. I no longer need to keep the Windex rag with me. I do still have to clean when I get gas, just never between gas stops.

Is this good, well I don’t think so.

Rod
 
I think is a cycle thing. Some years the lovebugs are terrible, the next year or so different, then a huge increase again. Riding thru that in a car or a bike leaves a huge mess to deal with compared to nats.
The past few years, the bottlenose butterflies that look like small monarchs have been extremely plentiful and will leave a mark...or hundreds, riding thru them around here during their migration.

Maybe enough freezes has altered the pattern, but I still have to clean stuff enough to not notice a big change.
We wore new hi-viz yellow jackets on our last trip into Canada...mine looked like a war zone by the time we got home, H's a little better as I must have been in front in the bug storms:laugh
 
Bugs

Michigan is currently overrun with Love Bugs. We'll see how it goes this summer.

Generally speaking the wetter the state, the more bugs you can expect in the warm weather.

About 10 years ago I rode to Utah, NV, and AZ. While there, I don't recall a single day that I had to clean the shield.

When I rode back and got near Iowa, Illinois, then it was like the flood gates opened.
 
I have not noticed a decline in our neck of the woods. I have not been east of the Mississippi in 3 years to see what is going on over there.

By the way, I think Windex on most clear motorcycle and helmet surfaces is a bad idea. Plain water or hydrogen peroxide works well with no risk of damage.
 
Generally speaking the wetter the state, the more bugs you can expect in the warm weather.

.

First time we visited my brother in Yuma Arizona I was surprised he could leave the house doors open without letting bugs in.
 
No decrease in bugs here in Mississippi. Last fall, while riding in the southern part of the state, the love bugs were TERRIBLE, but just in certain spots. Mosquitoes are bad all over. While in the Ark. Delta, got stopped by a train and mosquitoes were biting thru my riding gloves! If there is some reason for a decline in insects, other than a natural one, it isn't good for sure. I would rather clean bugs off me & the bike than to know something unnatural was occurring. However, honey bees are disappearing, and they ARE important for everyone. Too bad some people don't just disappear :).
 
No decrease in bugs here in Mississippi. Last fall, while riding in the southern part of the state, the love bugs were TERRIBLE, but just in certain spots. Mosquitoes are bad all over. While in the Ark. Delta, got stopped by a train and mosquitoes were biting thru my riding gloves! If there is some reason for a decline in insects, other than a natural one, it isn't good for sure. I would rather clean bugs off me & the bike than to know something unnatural was occurring. However, honey bees are disappearing, and they ARE important for everyone. Too bad some people don't just disappear :).

Same story here, less bees the past few years hanging out here...but even today after a few freezes, I was swatting/feeding skeeters dealing with a yard line leak.They are year round unless it is under 50°:banghead

The bee thing is pretty concening. Those lovebugs could be thinned from my encounters:hungover

H and I were talking to each other riding above Wisconsin in Canada about all the fishermen along the way wearing netted hats...then we stopped for fuel and opened the helmet...yikes
 
H and I were talking to each other riding above Wisconsin in Canada about all the fishermen along the way wearing netted hats...then we stopped for fuel and opened the helmet...yikes

We used to call that the Minnesota Air Force. :)
 
Skeeters were at times unbearable in Alaska as were wasps some years. I have not had a mosquito bite in over seven years in tropical Montana, but the fronts of our bikes are evidence to there being plenty of other species of flying insects around here. Bee hives are plentiful in Montana. Many ranchers have hives of their own or rent hives in the spring. In this part of the country ranchers are also hay farmers because of the need to feed cattle in the winter. Each year at Christmas our neighbor rancher gives us a jar of honey produced on his land. Annie has expressed an interest in keeping bees... I have not encouraged her.
 
H's dad did the beekeeping thing and she brings it up every Spring as somethi g she would like to do...I don't have the time or patience to become the beekeeper I know will occur. Being chased off of power poles by bees and red wasps has me no fan of swarms. I usually lost.
I do use honey a lot, so...
 
Global insect decline may see 'plague of pests' - BBC News
1 day ago - The general insect decline is being caused by intensive agriculture, ... that people could do, such as making their gardens more insect friendly, ...


To the casual observer/rider the Minnesota Air Force is as vibrant as ever. What we are seeing is a decline in targeted populations as a result of pesticides, a decline in habitat for the critters that results in allowing other insect populations grow. The concern for fly-over-land is how to maintain a healthy population of polinating insects (that is more than bees) while maximizing planting to feed the rest of you.
 
Lovebugs are not declining

I have lived in Fort Myers Florida for fifteen years. The love bugs seem to come out twice a year. When they do, they are thick in the air. We get less of them than they get in Sarasota, which is north of here. When they are out, they are everywhere. They will damage the paint on the bike too with some sort of acid in their juice.
 

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^ I agree. I live near US27 and when going up to the big lake our bikes look like bug heaven :hungover . Some of the backroads are even worse due to the lack of traffic thinning out the herd...
It is definitely seasonal but I have not seen diminishing numbers down here... YMMV
 
H's dad did the beekeeping thing and she brings it up every Spring as somethi g she would like to do...I don't have the time or patience to become the beekeeper I know will occur. Being chased off of power poles by bees and red wasps has me no fan of swarms. I usually lost.
I do use honey a lot, so...

I got into it about 5 years ago when a colony decided to take up residence in the wall of my tool shed. After reading about CCD and the huge loss of honeybees that has been happening I decided killing them was not an option so I read up on beekeeping and thought it sounded like a good hobby. It turned out to be a great idea. Doesn't take a lot of time or effort nor a lot of money and provides some of the best honey I have ever tasted. It is really fascinating to watch them work. I took this last year off because of problems created by a new neighbor and really miss it. Can't wait to start a few more hives.
 
They've never been as bad here in Georgia as when I lived in TexSux, but I moved ten years ago so I only have so much historical background to compare.

But since moving to GA I have yet to have what used to be a regular occurrence in TX: faceshield covered with bugs, clean it at a fuel-stop, then within thirty seconds of returning to the road, I would see a big black dot swirling through the slipstream toward me, then BAM! big huge bug splattered right in the middle of my field of view, where I can't look around it or pretend it's not there. I don't miss that at all.
 
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