If I drive in Europe in summer the windscreen of my car becomes splattered with dead insects. However, I can drive for months in the Caribbean without any insects hitting the screen. Are Caribbean insects smarter?
It isn鈥檛 a matter of Caribbean bugs being smarter but of what the local conditions are like or even something as simple as the road size. If you drove along a minor country road in Europe or along an urban highway in the Caribbean, for example, you would probably experience windscreen splatter of the kind you describe.
Many insects are drawn during the evening to any source of light, even if it is only faint, and so may fly towards car windscreens. Insects would not be similarly enticed if you were driving at noon. So the number of insects hitting your screen could be affected by different light levels in Europe and the Caribbean. To make a sensible comparison we need more details, including which species perished.
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Jin Xiao, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China
The effect could be a consequence of differences in road infrastructure in Europe and the Caribbean. European roads are mostly wide and asphalted, and allow high-speed driving, whereas Caribbean roads are not always so welcoming to the fast driver.
In Europe, traffic and asphalted roads generate and retain heat, which is usually appreciated by insects. In the Caribbean, the difference in temperature on and off-road is not so great, meaning the road environment may be less attractive to insects. Also, you would probably have to drive more slowly in the Caribbean, giving the insects a chance to escape or be swept over the car by the airflow.
Gael Canal, Chaville, France
You haven鈥檛 experienced the full fury of bug splatter unless you have driven in Florida in early spring or late summer. The culprit is , the love bug. The name is well chosen because the insects fly together in pairs. The male locks the end of his abdomen with that of the female, and when she starts to fly the male arches upside down over her and flies with her. In a swarm you seldom see a love bug without a partner flying upside down above it, though this arrangement makes for a very low flying speed.
Love bugs can swarm above roads in such numbers that they almost form a cloud. When you hit an infested section of highway, it can completely obscure your windscreen in one quick blast, as well as the radiator and headlamps. If the black remains are not removed from the paintwork, they can corrode the finish in a day or two.
鈥淚f the black remains of love bugs are not removed from a car鈥檚 paintwork, they can corrode the finish in a day or two鈥�
At the height of the love bug season, many drivers fix a screen to the front of their car to make cleaning them off easier. In the north of Florida, washing stations have been installed along the main highways so drivers can clean the bugs off their vehicles.