Two scientific studies of the number of insects splattered by cars have revealed a huge decline in abundance at European sites in two decades.
It also found a parallel decline in the number of swallows and martins, birds that live on insects.
Show Hide Insects are crucial to the health of functioning ecosystems that are vital for food production and security.
Insect populations around the world are plummeting, with 40% of species declining and a third endangered, according to the same literature review.
In the long term, scientists have called for an international body to monitor the health of insect populations and action taken to help them.
“What there is slight doubt about is the extent to which this occurs across geographical and temporal scales.”.
Kent Wildlife Trust is now working on a smartphone app to make it easier for volunteers to provide insect splat data. »