By recycling organic matter, controlling pests, and providing pollination, insects are critical to maintaining a healthy environment. A new survey led by Buglife, the Invertebrate Conservation Trust and the Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) has found that the number of flying insects in the UK has fallen by almost 60 per cent since 2004. According to the researchers, this is a “frightening” drop that requires urgent conservation efforts.
The scientists asked survey participants to download an application called Bugs Matter, which they could use to record their car trips and the number of bugs crushed on their license plates.
The survey covered nearly 5,000 rides in 2021 and determined the “splat rate” (the number of bugs squished per mile) for each ride. By comparing the results to a similar study conducted in 2004, the researchers found that insect numbers in the UK fell by 58.5 per cent from 2004 to 2021, with the sharpest drop being in England (65 per cent). , followed by Wales (55 percent) and Scotland (28 percent).
“This important study suggests that the number of flying insects is declining by an average of 34 percent per decade — that’s staggering,” said study co-author Matt Shardlow, CEO of Buglife. “We can no longer delay action, for the health and well-being of future generations this requires a political and societal response. It is important that we stop the decline in biodiversity now.”
“The results should shock and worry us all,” added Paul Hadaway, Connectivity Program Manager at KWT. “We are seeing a decline in insects, reflecting the tremendous threat and loss of wildlife across the country. We must take action now for all of our wildlife by creating more and larger habitats, creating corridors for wildlife through the landscape, and allowing space for nature to recover.”
Although the researchers admit that it’s difficult to extrapolate clear rates of decline from just two large surveys, these new results are consistent with assessments of insect declines in other countries, such as the Rural Denmark Car Windshield Survey, which has been conducted every year since 1997 to 2017 and found an 80 percent drop in the frequency of flying insects.
To address this extremely serious problem, the scientists are calling for urgent action from government and councils, as well as ordinary people, who could help protect insect populations by abandoning pesticides, allowing grass to grow longer and sowing wildflowers in their gardens.
The study is available for download from the Buglife website.
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By Andrei Ionescu, Earth.com contributor
