When wasps, bees and flies continually clatter against the glass of my conservatory attempting a means of escape, are they following a strategy? (continued)
Reg Price
Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK
To add to previous observations, I have twice seen dragonflies enter large, heavily-glazed buildings: one a golf club conservatory, the other a commercial greenhouse. On both occasions, the dragonflies seemed to check out the space for several minutes and then leave via an open window. On both occasions, they didn鈥檛 once hit the glass, or anything else!
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Thinking about the number of flying insects more generally, I have observed that those colliding with my car have fallen in numbers. When once I would have to clean the windscreen of insect debris frequently in a single long journey, now I have to examine the car to find any trace anywhere. I鈥檝e also noticed that when it comes to flying insects entering an illuminated room via an open window after dark, numbers have fallen from dozens in an hour to maybe a single individual. Maybe changing to LED lights has had some effect?
I am 79, so these changes are over 60 years.
James Fenton
Clachan-Seil, Oban, UK
I have noticed that when the smaller flies found in a house, such as cluster flies, encounter a closed window, they spend their whole time trying to get through it and eventually die. However, the larger houseflies have a different strategy: they try a given window for a short time, then give up and try another one, eventually being successful if they find an open one. This indicates a greater intelligence.
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