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UK scientists fear insect loss as car bug splats fall

The 2024 Bugs Matter study released on April 30 revealed that flying insect numbers in the UK dropped by 63% from 2021 to 2024 based on car number plate splats.
Researchers attributed this sharp decline mainly to human activities including habitat loss, pesticide use, pollution, and climate change affecting insect populations.
The Bugs Matter survey tallied over 25,000 journeys with citizen scientists recording insect splats year by year, showing a consistent long-term decline comparable to trends in Europe.
Conservation scientist Lawrence Ball called the drop “really alarming,” while Buglife’s Andrew Whitehouse noted the abundance of flying insects has fallen again in the countryside.
The decline signals risks to ecosystems reliant on insects for pollination, pest control, and food chains, and experts urge urgent action to halt further losses and restore nature.

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Le Monde

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Speed of insect population collapse confirmed by citizen science experiment

Thousands of Britons regularly recorded the impact of insects using their car license plates, revealing a staggering 63% decline in these flying creatures between 2021 and 2024.

3 days ago·Paris, France

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EcoWatch

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ecotopical.com

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Major Decline in Bug Splatter on Vehicles Raises Fears Over Disappearing UK Insects: Study

Many drivers may understand feeling sad or frustrated over bugs splattered across the front of the car from regular use. In just a short trip to work and back or to run errands, your car could have countless tiny splatters across the windshield, hood and front bumper. But based on a new report in the UK, a decline in bug splatter on vehicles could be a troubling sign of rapidly declining insect populations. The report is not the first to conside…

4 days ago

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Daily Journal

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UK scientists fear insect loss as car bug splats fall

A UK-wide decline in bug splats recorded on car number plates indicates an "alarming" fall in the number of flying insects, UK scientists said in a survey published Wednesday.

4 days ago·Cherokee County, United States

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Reporterre, le quotidien de l'écologie…

Two-thirds of UK's flying insects have disappeared in three years

In just three years, the flying insect population has plummeted by 63% in the United Kingdom. This is the result of the participatory study Bugs Matter, the results of which were made public on April 30. The principle of the study, implemented by two environmental organizations—Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife—is simple: from 2021 to 2024, thousands of British motorists uploaded photos of their license plates to a dedicated app, before and after …

2 days ago

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TF1 INFO

The insect population is collapsing and this is not good news for the environment at all

According to a British participatory study revealed this week, the insect population fell by 63% between 2021 and 2024. Alarming figures, according to scientists, because the collapse of this population results in a chain reaction that impacts the whole of life. Maud Descamps' explanations in L'Expresso de "Hello ! La Matinale TF1". - The insect population collapses and this is not good news for the environment at all (Environment).

2 days ago

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