Whimsical 'Bug Memorials' In Minneapolis Draw Attention To The Deaths Of Billions Of Insects

According to a study by Dutch biologist Arnold van Vliet, approximately 133 billion insects are killed every month by cars in the Netherlands.

But cars are, of course, not the only culprits.

Everyday -- mostly without thought or intention -- we all kill dozens, if not hundreds, of bugs.

Swatting at mosquitos, stepping on ants and drinking beetles in our Frappucinos -- the fatalities are endless.

Yet, as Treehugger puts it, despite the shared mortality that binds us all as living beings, few ever stop to consider these tiny deaths.

Now, with their ongoing public art project called "Bug Memorials," the Minneapolis-based creative agency Carmichael Lynch is trying to change that.

By whimsically calling attention to the world's most unmourned deaths with a series of itty-bitty commemorative shrines, the collective hopes to encourage city folk to be more aware of their surroundings, PSFK reports.

To see the agency's other creative endeavors, visit the Carmichael Collective.

Check out images of the shrines below:

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Comments

[no exit]

01:54 PM on 05/17/2012

Adorable! RIP little creatures.

[toakley01]

05:42 PM on 04/30/2012

Slow news day?

[Aroddo]

01:00 PM on 04/28/2012

what?
that a joke?

[NewLiberals]

04:46 PM on 04/21/2012

Rules of Engagement

Inside:
Ants die!
Flys die!
Spiders die!
Scorpions die!
Mosquitos die!
Cockroaches die!
Bees are confined and released outside.
Harmless and Beneficial Insects are confined and released outside.

Outside:
Annoying Flys die!
Mosquitos die!
Cockroaches die!
Poisonous Spiders die!
Pretty much everything else is avoided or ignored.

[joemaf21]

04:09 PM on 04/20/2012

Haha, my friend was being harassed by a bee once, and decided to shoot it with a BB gun. He had a funeral for it, calling it his "greatest enemy," and buried it with a headstone in his backyard. just goes to show you how much people care for bugs.

[Dean M Miller]

02:48 PM on 04/19/2012

so now the liberal hippies are trying to save all the bugs too?

[NewLiberals]

04:47 PM on 04/21/2012

Nope, just Republicans sense of humor.