I'm sure many of us have observed this over the past two decades. 20 years ago I could drive to California from Arizona and by the time I got to San Jose my windshield would be smothered in insects. Not so much now, just a few on the whole trip. I recently drove to Albuquerque and noticed one hit my windshield on the way back. One. Which I tried getting off with the wipers, but it was stubborn (must have been a big one) so I ended up squeegeeing it off at a gas station. There definitely has been a reduction in insect population here in the southwest.
Maybe this is due to widespread use of insecticide? Even so, I'm shocked that the decline is so significant. In none of the major extinction events of the past have insect populations dipped so dramatically.
But regardless, I dislike most insects. So long as this doesn't impact humanity's ability to thrive on the planet I don't mind. Since we're doing just fine in the face of such significant losses in biomass I don't really worry.
