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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
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Wed, 1 May 2013 19:02:50 -0600
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> Remember that your old car was far less aerodynamic than modern
> cars.

That is an interesting argument, but one that does not stand up to
scrutiny, at least for my old cars.  My old van, maybe.  (It was British
-- a Vauxhall).  Also my Winnebago.

Aerodynamics were a big thing back in the late forties and fifties.

Back then, cars were tested in wind tunnels.  Not all, but some cars
rivalled modern cars regard to sleekness.  Of course there were plenty
of boxes on wheels. There still are.

The 1950 Monarch, Ford and Studebaker came close to modern aerodynamics.
They did not get into spoilers, air dams and other minor tricks, but
they did consider air resistance and designed for low drag in many models.

I've driven all sorts of vehicles over the years at varying speeds.  As
I grow more mature, I drive much more slowly than I did as a young buck,
so the speed argument does not hold, for me at least.  You won't find me
doing 100 MPH anymore.  Not at the wheel of a car on a public highway,
anyhow.

As for being deflected, larger bugs -- the ones that make the big splat
-- have sufficient mass that they are not much deflected by the airflow.
  Additionally, quite a bit of air enters the radiators and the amount of
insect buildup on those surfaces is nothing like it used to be.

Driving through a dense swarm at highway speed will still reduce
visibility to zero instantly, so we know that bugs still hit cars when
there are bugs to hit.

Anyhow, I can confirm that, even in forested areas, there seem to be
vastly fewer bugs accumulating on the front of the vehicle at night than
50 years ago.  At least in Canada.

> There may be fewer bugs than there used to but the Windshield Test
> is a very unreliable measure of that hypothesis.

Well, I think it is a pretty good indicator.

As for accuracy, unless the question is far less general, a general
measure seems to be appropriate.

I wonder how anyone would set out to make a better estimate?

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