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Comment by np- | Hacker News Reader

Totally anecdotally: I have to scrub a thick layer of bugs off my motorcycle helmet after every single ride but almost never off the windshield of my car. Though this could also be a function of where I’m going (typically rural back roads on the bike and highway/interstate in the car), but even then I’m still not sure, since there is a decent amount of overlap in local routes

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There is nothing that gets one to zip up their motorcycle jacket quicker than getting hit with a large bug in the chest while doing 100kmh(60mph).

When I got my first motorcycle, the thing that surprised me the most was how much rain hurts on bare skin at 60 mph.

Not to be sarcastic, but is there much that doesn’t hurt at 60 mph? Haha.

The old cars I ride in don't get the bug salad or yore either.

Yes, the modern car windshields have a much flatter angle than old cars but it's not as news worthy. :-)

They account for this factor, and several others, in the study. There's an world wide decimation of insect populations, and it has received minor coverage relative to its likely significance to ecosystems.

what significant effects could there be on ecosystems by a decline in bugs? (I'm sure there are some, just curious)

Think of a food chain, bugs are near the bottom meaning they are a food source for many other creatures like birds, reptiles, small mammals, fish. Fewer bugs means less food for mice, that means fewer mice, leads to less food for snakes, leads to fewer snakes, leads to less food for birds of prey, leads to fewer birds of prey. There are many chains like this where bugs are a vital source of food. If there were zero bugs then these chains would collapse. Also, bugs are needed to pollenate many fruit bearing plants.

Also, a huge portion of food production is dependent on bees and other pollinators.

So better aerodynamics is squashing less bugs ?

I think this is real, I'm traveling and borrowed a relatives car which is much lower profile and more sleek than my old Jeep. I was driving through the countryside the other day and there were a lot of critters flying about, I was surprised that often, they'd sort of just get "pushed" over the top of the car. Not sure what happened to them after that but yeah!

I did some googling to find a comparison of old and new cars in wind tunnels without much luck but this articles cover is fairly good[0].

> Not sure what happened to them after that but yeah!

One thing I did find is that for aerodynamic purposes the one place cars want turbulence is right behind them in their wake to disrupt a vacuum.

So I expect those bugs get smashed into the ground or even sucked into the radiator of any close behind cars as that air seems quite stagnant right behind a car.

[0] https://eu.seacoastonline.com/story/special/2017/01/09/cars-...

Interestingly enough, the article itself discusses aerodynamics.

I mean, it's quite news worthy. The Washington Post dedicated large parts of an article on insect population decline to exploring it.

Implies a VW Bus gets the most bugs? Bart and Sideshow Bob got a lot of bugs on the Wright Brothers plane [0] .

[0] https://youtu.be/RD77nyoEyug?t=112

Having had a VW bus all my life I can confirm they do get a lot of bugs, but far fewer these days. In the 80s my father used to try all manner of cleaning products to try and remove them but it's not such an issue any more.

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