Splat Attack

'Splats', on UK car registration plates, were counted in 2004 and 2021 studies. There appeared to be a dramatic decrease in the numbers of flying insects, between these dates (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/05/flying-insect-numbers-have-plunged-by-60-since-2004-gb-survey-finds). The data suggested declines of 65, 55 and 28%, in England, Wales and Scotland, respectively. The two years could, of course, be atypical. Danish car windscreen splats, collected every year between 1987 and 2017, showed an 80% decline in flying insects. The UK decline, consequently, seems both real and worrying. Life on Earth, largely depends on bees, butterflies and flies.