Alert : Insect Decline and Food Security
Situation
April 2024
Government Inquiry
Insect numbers are difficult to quantify however recent research suggests that in the UK flying insects have declined by 60% in the past 20 years.
Insects provide pivotal roles for UK food security including pollination and pest or weed regulation.
There are also concerns that pest species may be increasing with negative impacts on crop yields.
The Committee aims to build understanding of the role of insects in the UK food system and the economic impact of their decline and the associated risk to UK food security.
It seeks to examine the evidence base for insect abundance in the UK, current drivers of insect loss and
the Government’s interventions to halt or reverse declines.
Mar 2019
United Nations
The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles. The total mass of insects is falling by a precipitous 2.5 per cent a year, according to the best data available, suggesting they could vanish within a century.
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To measure insect numbers :
- participate in structured, standardized citizen science surveys
- Bugs Matter
- Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS)
- conduct simple, DIY counts
1. Join the Bugs Matter App (Vehicle Surveys)
This project utilizes the "windscreen phenomenon" to monitor general flying insect abundance.
How it works:
Before an essential journey between April and September, clean your vehicle's front number plate.
Record your journey details in the app, and upon arrival, count the number of bug splats on your license
plate.
Action: Download the free app via the Bugs Matter Buglife Page and submit your "splat rate" (insects per
mile).
2. Conduct a FIT Count (Flower-Insect Timed Count)
If you prefer counting live insects in your garden or a local green space, the UK Centre for Ecology &
Hydrology tracks flower-visiting pollinators.
How it works:
Find a 50 × 50 cm patch of a single flower species in warm, dry weather. Spend exactly 10 minutes
counting every insect that lands on those specific flowers.
Action:
Learn the 14 target flower species and submit your data through the PoMS FIT Counts page.
3. DIY Trapping Methods
If you want to observe a wider variety of nocturnal or ground-dwelling insects in your garden, use
these methods:
I. Light Traps: Hang a white sheet in your garden and place a bright light behind it during a dark,
cloudy night.
Sit and wait to count and identify the insects that are drawn to the sheet.
II. Pitfall Traps: Bury a plastic cup so the rim sits level with the soil surface, and half-fill it with soapy water.
Leave it overnight to catch ground-dwelling invertebrates, then empty it, identify the insects, and
reset or remove it the next morning.
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-> NEED to review the reasons for the insect decline reports and arrange an optimal response for the local areas...
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