Where are the bugs?

OK, drag out Rachael Carson's Silent Spring. But wait! We don't use DDT anymore, so what explains the almost total lack of flying insects of ANY kind in Western Oregon this year? Sure, we had a long Winter, which extended right into and mostly through Spring, but are all those insects all THAT put off by a little cold and rain when it came time to do the nasty and reproduce?

Missing almost entirely are:

Grasshoppers, most wasps, bees of all sorts, including the pesky little ground-dwelling bees which are usually plentiful around here, mosquitoes (almost none), houseflies (a few, but I can leave the doors open for 20 minutes and not get one in the house), moths and butterflies.

I scrubbed the windshield on the LBT on Thursday, loaned the truck to the Doctor Daughter, who used it to move into her swell new digs in the Portland West Hills, then got it back Sunday. As I got home and filled up the tank in a local gas station, I got out to clean the windshield, but it was still whistle-clean from 48 hours ago, despite the vehicle having been driven all over West Portland, a lush forested area, and across the Willamette River twice, some 125 miles.

Nope, there are no bugs.

Very strange. BTW, during "Global Warming", aren't insects supposed to abound?

Comments

[Morenuancedthanyou]

Klamath Falls had plenty of bugs when I drove down there last month.

[GUYK]

What's your address? I'll send you some off of sweetthing's half acre..I got plenty to spare...

[Dz]

Well, I just got back from MN, where I am not pleased to report that the bugs ABOUND this year. Even more pesky than the hordes of mosquitos were the prolific horseflies. My, how I hate the horse-fly! If I could, I'd send Noah a whole LIST of animals NOT to bring aboard the Ark.

However, the long, hard Winter and the late coming of Spring and Summer did mean that the lakes have much less pond weed in them than last year.

Cheers!

[big al]

You all can head up the coast here and have your fill of flying insects..On the other hand they'll be more likely to have you as their fill , so to speak......And we hav e little bugger of a mite referred to as a "no seeum" that'll put a horsefly to shame,specially since he's the size of a head of a pin.(And I know where lawyers end up when they get reincarnated)