A project asking people to count squashed bugs on their car number plates suggests flying insects have declined by nearly two-thirds in less than 20 years.
The citizen science Bugs Matter survey, led by conservation charities Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife, found a 64 per cent decline in insect numbers splatted on vehicle number plates between 2004 and 2022 across the UK. The situation had worsened even since last year, when the survey recorded a nearly 59 per cent drop in numbers since 2004.
Experts said it was not clear what proportion of the five percentage point drop between 2021 and 2022 was due to long-term trends or the result of record summer temperatures, but suggested climate change had a role in both issues. The conservation groups said insects provided essential services, underpinning food chains, pollinating most of the world’s crops and providing natural pest control and that without them, the ability of humans to survive on Earth would be under threat.
