observation: bugs this year

A while back someone posted about how few bugs he had on his windshield. Seems like this year there are very few of what are normally abundant around here.

Cicadas (annual): Haven't heard any singing this year, only twice last year. No new shells on the trees.
Grasshoppers/katydids: None come to mind.
Praying mantis: Saw first one Sunday. Normally find a lot of egg cases, none this year.
Crickets: A few.
Wasps/yellow jackets: Not as many.
Ladybugs: None, but it's a little early for them.

I have seen a few more honeybees this summer.
Is this going on all over?

I am 120 miles north of Houston on I-45
Grasshoppers a few around but not like last year.
Crickets a few
Lovebugs were all over the place. Front of feed truck turned black. Had to fight them to drop off feed.
Bees were about normal
Wasp more than we need
Deer plenty of them.

But the odd thing is. Very few hogs. Last year they were all over the place. I counted 100 on one place I drop off feed. This year nothing.Even in the evenings. I talked to the county hog man. He says he is going broke this year. Last year he was making three trips a day to the packing house.

I agree with your observation of fewer bugs this year, with the exception of gnats, mosquitoes, and the greasy Florida love bugs. TDF

Much the same here. Many people ask me why I would go to the woods in the summer with all the mosquitos and black flies. They have been non existent. I haven't seen a lady bug yet this year, but we have had some of those similar beetles with black shells and cream colored spots on them. We have had some green grasshoppers around, but haven't seen any of the big gray ones. Yellow jackets have been very annoying here at the house in the last week. I guess the fresh cut firewood attracts them. Saw my first mantis the other day. There was a good many Japanese beetles in July in our garden. Also got hit with some sort of worm that got into all varieties of vined plants and killed most of them.
A couple of things that were noticeably abundant this year was butterflies. There were huge flocks of Monarchs when we finally got some summer weather in Aug., along with lots of the smaller yellow and white ones, and some of similar size that were bluish and pinkish.
I also notices a lot of those little orange and brown lizards in the woods this year. I split one big maple crotch block which had an cavity in it, and I bet 2 doz. of those little wiggly guys were scrambling in every direction on the splitter when it popped open.
Loren

up here in n cent illinois, the bugs are bad. skeeters, wasps, asian lady bugs, jap beetles, deer flys ect. had a pretty wet spring and summer till end of july then got little rain. right now the minute pirate bugs are out in force. little buggers bite hard!!

Spent a week in Houston about a month ago, stocked up on bug repentant anticipating blood thirsty mosquitoes.

(Anyone who's ever been to Houston knows what I'm talking about!)

But did not see, hear, or get bit by a single one!

Guess the hurricane washed them all away.

The Box Elder bugs were so bad for my neighbor and I that we have been cutting all the female Box Elder trees down. We spray them with water and Palmolive dish washing liquid mixed in, kills them in about 20-30 seconds. We've had some warm weather in the last week and a half that sent them into a frenzy.

That is odd. Normally you can hear the bomber squadrons clear up here.

We had a huge amount of butterflies this year. Driving down the highway, it looked like a light snowstorm.

Cicadas (annual): normal
Grasshoppers: fewer
Katydids: slightly fewer
Praying mantis: fewer
Walking Sticks: more
Crickets: normal
Wasps/yellow jackets: normal
Ladybugs: fewer

Also have seen a few more honeybees this summer.

Bret

If you are wanting to know where all the stink-bugs are, they are all down here in NC. And most of them are trying to move into the shed behind the shop where I work before Winter.

In southern MN the crickets and grasshoppers were abundant.

Lots of Asian beetles the last couple of weeks (seldom see an old fashioned little lady bug anymore - I think those darn Asian beetles overran them).

Lots of spiders of ALL sorts.

Great plenty of wasps/hornets... they were swarming thick at one of my jobs. Had to call someone in to thin them out so I could get into my office! They were bad!

We also saw a few more honey bees this summer. Didn't see quite as many Bumble bees.

The cicadas actually did their singing in September... it's usually in August - but I think August was just too cold here (unusually cold in August - we were even dipping into the 40's at night for a while there).

We also had an exceptional crop of Soldier beetles in September... they thickly covered any yellow wildflowers/weeds on our field lane.

Them big gray grasshoppers seen very few.
House sparrows a few.
mud dobers very few.
Lots of red tail hawks.
Lots and lots of turkey buzzards.

No shortage of bugs here in SW Missouri. we are in corn harvest and I'm having to clean the windshield of the truck every three or four trips to the elevator or I can't see where I'm going. I've been stung three times by hornets/yellowjackets this summer. Would've been more but I saw the others in time to get them before they got me. We have plenty of wasps/hornets/yellowjackets this year.

Same here in West Central MO. In the KC area bugs are plentiful and the flies were really bad this year. Also seeing more spiders than normal. That could be due to the bug population.

Did you guys send all of yours here? If so take'm back please.