When I was a kid, I remember seeing clouds of them in the school field when we went out to play. There used to be so many that they would cover your windshield. For the last few years I have hardly seen any around. Today, I only saw a single solitary bug lazily flying through the air.
I suspect the rapidly changing climate is the cause but, I guess I feel a bit of shock at realizing and reflecting on the fact that this is happening right at home.
When I was young, boxelder bugs used to come stick to the houses in the fall seeking a warm spot--hundreds of them. Haven't seen them in over 20 years. Also, used to have tons of milkweed, grasshoppers of all species, crickets and other insects all night long, and butterflies and bees galore.
Now it seems, all we have is mosquitos and flies.
When I retire, I'm moving North so I can try to live in a similar climate as my youth, maybe eastern Montana or western North Dakota.