Love bugs

Val looks at the importance of insects for wildlife and man

- Val Bourne

LAST August, on the 14th, I wrote about Buglife's splatometer app. Buglife, the only charity devoted to invertebrates, asked people who were about to make a journey to clean their vehicle's front number plate before leaving. On arrival, you were asked to photograph the insects on the number plate and submit the picture via the Buglife app. This citizen science would help Buglife (buglife.org.uk) to assess the decline in insect life. This year's app went live on 1 June.

The results of last year's survey are in, to use a Strictly term. The news percolated through on 5 May this year, the day when many voted in the local elections. The BBC, which can't cover any political stories on election days, for obvious reasons, found space for two important environmental reports.

One was about the splatometer results, put together by Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife. It was far worse than I imagined. England suffered the worst decline, with 65% fewer insects in 2021 than in 2004 - a period of just 17 years. Wales recorded 55% fewer insects, while Scotland saw the smallest decline, still with 28% fewer insects in 2021 when compared to 2004 figures. There were not enough readings to assess the levels in Northern Ireland.