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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
James Fischer <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 7 Jul 2014 23:09:46 -0400
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> Were there an engineering report 
> comparing the aerodynamics of 
> circa 1960 windshields vs. 2014 
> windshields, or a 1963 bug census 
> compared to a 2013 bug census...

Ask, and ye shall receive!

Windshield splatter analysis... now with metagenomics!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2775585/
http://tinyurl.com/q5yhh79

So a bumper of a 2006 Dodge Caravan seems to still be an excellent sampling
tool for surveys of insects.  

No need to bore anyone with the math, but aerodynamic front ends are not
going to help modern cars avoid any but the smallest insect strikes, as the
laminar flow over the hood and windshield would certainly save the life of
mosquitoes and gnats, but not cicadas. The larger the bug, the less it would
be deflected by the laminar flow.  At 30 meters per second (about 67mph),
mathcad says that the very thickest part of the laminar flow over my
4.7-meter long teardrop-shaped Volvo v70 wagon would be about 3 cm thick,
and that would be at the far rear end of the roof above the rear cargo door.
Over the windshield, we are talking maybe 1/16th to 1/8 of that, max.  Honey
bees gonna die.  Bumbles goin' splat.  Flies may survive.  Increase the
velocity, and you increase the carnage.  

Driving through Mayflies can still destroy one's clearcoat if the car is not
washed quickly, and I have not heard of any brand of car that is immune to
Mayfly strikes.

Even the most extreme examples of optimized aerodynamic design are still
plagued by insect strikes, and lower fuel efficiency due to the rough
leading wing surfaces created by all those dead bugs - here's the nose of an
Airbus A320 that flew several passes at 200 feet above the deck in spring:

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/autopia/2013/08/ATRA_Nase2.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/nq847ew

The focus of the worry is not so much the nose as it is the leading edges of
the wings, of course.
The good news is that insects trend to stay close to the ground.

Remember, you can be the windshield, or be the bug.

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