his time of year, I often think about the lack of dead insects on my car. Like many of you who grew up in the 20th century, I remember the windshields of my childhood station wagons and teen junkers were often smeared with the white or yellow spots of insect hemolymph (their blood equivalent), and that chrome crevices were crusted with the bodies and wings of damselflies, bumblebees, butterflies, and wasps. Left to dry, these vehicular homicides stuck like glue.
For me, this rarely happens anymore.
It turns out that I’ve been way behind the curve on noticing the lack of dead bugs on my cars. It’s been a common observation and a discussion point for since the late 20th century. It has a name: the Windshield Phenomenon.
