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As early as the 2000s it became a commonplace observation among drivers that windscreens after a long drive no longer had to be cleaned of a myriad of insects.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/scientists-set-out-to-discover-if-insects-are-disappearing-from-britain-542297.html |title=Scientists set out to discover if insects are disappearing from Britain |last=McCarthy |first=Michael |date=2003-06-30 |website=The Independent |access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/car-splatometer-test-shows-bugs-2421336 |title=Car 'splatometer' test shows bugs flying towards extinction |last=WalesOnline |date=2004-09-01 |website=walesonline |access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3032476.stm |title='Splatometer' to count bug life |last=|first= |date=2003-06-30 |work=BBC News |access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref>
As early as the 2000s it became a commonplace observation among drivers that windscreens after a long drive no longer had to be cleaned of a myriad of insects.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/scientists-set-out-to-discover-if-insects-are-disappearing-from-britain-542297.html |title=Scientists set out to discover if insects are disappearing from Britain |last=McCarthy |first=Michael |date=2003-06-30 |website=The Independent |access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/car-splatometer-test-shows-bugs-2421336 |title=Car 'splatometer' test shows bugs flying towards extinction |last=WalesOnline |date=2004-09-01 |website=walesonline |access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3032476.stm |title='Splatometer' to count bug life |last=|first= |date=2003-06-30 |work=BBC News |access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref>


The windshield phenomenon was widely discussed in 2017 after major publications and media covered the topic of reductions in insect abundance over the last few decades.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/what-windshield-phenomenon |title=What is the 'windshield phenomenon'? |website=Mother Nature Network |access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref> [[Entomologists]] stated that they had noticed that they no longer had to frequently clean their windshields.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Vogel|first=Gretchen|last2=10 May 2017|last3=Am|first3=9:00|date=2017-05-09|title=Where have all the insects gone?|url=https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/where-have-all-insects-gone|access-date=2019-02-01|website=Science {{!}} AAAS}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/08/26/windscreen-phenomenon-car-no-longer-covered-dead-insects/ |title='The windscreen phenomenon' - why your car is no longer covered in dead insects|last=Knapton |first=Sarah |date=2017-08-26 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=2019-02-01|issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/what-happened-to-all-the-bugs-scientists-search-for-answers-20180921-p50547.html|title=What happened to all the bugs? Scientists search for answers|date=2018-09-20|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref> While data existed demonstrating the long-term decline in numbers of certain species, such as [[bee]]s and [[Butterfly|butterflies]], data was lacking for overall insect abundance.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/magazine/insect-apocalypse.html|title=The Insect Apocalypse Is Here|last=Jarvis|first=Brooke|date=2018-11-27|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-01-28|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Winfree|first=Rachael|last2=Aguilar|first2=Ramiro|last3=Vázquez|first3=Diego P.|last4=LeBuhn|first4=Gretchen|last5=Aizen|first5=Marcelo A.|date=2009|title=A meta-analysis of bees' responses to anthropogenic disturbance|journal=Ecology|volume=90|issue=8|pages=2068–2076|doi=10.1890/08-1245.1|issn=1939-9170|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/dd6747a873af8bca5c9ede154f87ab13ee97f281}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/21/insects-giant-ecosystem-collapsing-human-activity-catastrophe|title=A giant insect ecosystem is collapsing due to humans. It's a catastrophe|last=McCarthy|first=Michael|date=2017-10-21|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-02-02|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The [[Entomologischer Verein Krefeld|Entomological Society of Krefeld]] in Germany published a paper that year which helped to provide this missing information. The society had amassed 27 years worth of flying insect numbers collected using unchanged methods ([[Malaise trap]]s) and sampling spots. Based on the collection numbers, they reported a >75% decrease in total [[Biomass (ecology)|biomass]] over the years.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Kroon|first=Hans de|last2=Goulson|first2=Dave|last3=Hörren|first3=Thomas|last4=Sumser|first4=Hubert|last5=Müller|first5=Andreas|last6=Stenmans|first6=Werner|last7=Schwan|first7=Heinz|last8=Hofland|first8=Nick|last9=Siepel|first9=Henk|date=2017-10-18|title=More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=12|issue=10|pages=e0185809|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0185809|issn=1932-6203|pmc=5646769|pmid=29045418}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41670472|title=Alarm over decline in flying insects|last=Briggs|first=Helen|date=2017-10-19|work=BBC News|access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref> Another paper a year later showed that this effect was matched in the [[El Yunque National Forest]] of [[Puerto Rico]], using abundance data from 1976 and comparing it to that collected in the modern day using identical methods.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Garcia|first=Andres|last2=Lister|first2=Bradford C.|date=2018-10-30|title=Climate-driven declines in arthropod abundance restructure a rainforest food web|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=115|issue=44|pages=E10397–E10406|doi=10.1073/pnas.1722477115|issn=0027-8424|pmid=30322922|pmc=6217376}}</ref>
The windshield phenomenon was widely discussed in 2017 after major publications and media covered the topic of reductions in insect abundance over the last few decades.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/what-windshield-phenomenon |title=What is the 'windshield phenomenon'? |website=Mother Nature Network |access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref> [[Entomologists]] stated that they had noticed that they no longer had to frequently clean their windshields.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Vogel|first=Gretchen|last2=10 May 2017|last3=Am|first3=9:00|date=2017-05-09|title=Where have all the insects gone?|url=https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/where-have-all-insects-gone|access-date=2019-02-01|website=Science {{!}} AAAS}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/08/26/windscreen-phenomenon-car-no-longer-covered-dead-insects/ |title='The windscreen phenomenon' - why your car is no longer covered in dead insects|last=Knapton |first=Sarah |date=2017-08-26 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=2019-02-01|issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/what-happened-to-all-the-bugs-scientists-search-for-answers-20180921-p50547.html|title=What happened to all the bugs? Scientists search for answers|date=2018-09-20|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref>

The [[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]] reported its assessment of global biodiversity in 2019. Its summary for insect life was that "Global trends in insect populations are not known but rapid declines have been well documented in some places. ... Local declines of insect populations such as wild bees and butterflies have often been reported, and insect abundance has declined very rapidly in some places even without large-scale land-use change, but the global extent of such declines is not known. ... The proportion of insect species threatened with extinction is a key uncertainty, but available evidence supports a tentative estimate of 10 per cent."<ref name=IPBES>{{citation |url=https://www.ipbes.net/sites/default/files/downloads/spm_unedited_advance_for_posting_htn.pdf |title=Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services |date=6 May 2019 |first1=Sandra |last1=Díaz |authorlink1=Sandra Díaz (ecologist) |first2= Josef |last2=Settele |first3=Eduardo |last3=Brondízio |editor-first1=Manuela Carneiro |editor-last1=da Cunha |editor-first2=Georgina |editor-last2=Mace |editor-link2=Georgina Mace |editor-first3=Harold |editor-last3=Mooney |editor-link3=Harold A. Mooney |publisher=[[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]}}</ref>


== Studies ==
== Studies ==

Revision as of 17:04, 16 June 2020

Bugs on a windshield at sunset

The windshield phenomenon (or windscreen phenomenon) is a term given to the anecdotal and scientific observation that recently fewer dead insects accumulate on the windshields of people's cars. It has been attributed to a global decline in insect populations caused by human activity.[1]

Background

As early as the 2000s it became a commonplace observation among drivers that windscreens after a long drive no longer had to be cleaned of a myriad of insects.[2][3][4]

The windshield phenomenon was widely discussed in 2017 after major publications and media covered the topic of reductions in insect abundance over the last few decades.[5] Entomologists stated that they had noticed that they no longer had to frequently clean their windshields.[6][7][8]

Studies

Denmark

A 20-year study measured the number of dead insects on car windscreens on two stretches of road in Denmark from 1997 until 2017. Adjusted for variables such a time of day, date, temperature, and wind speed, the research found an 80% decline in insects. A parallel study using sweep nets and sticky plates in the same area positively correlated with the reduction of insects killed by car windscreens.[9]

United Kingdom

In 2004 the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) asked 40,000 motorists in the United Kingdom to attach a sticky PVC film to their number plate. One insect collided with the plate for every 8 kilometres (5 mi) driven.[2][3][4][7][10] No historical data was available for comparison in the UK.[11] A follow-up study by Kent Wildlife Trust in 2019 used the same methodology as the RSPB survey and resulted in 50% fewer impacts. The research also found that modern cars, with a more aerodynamic body shape, killed slightly more insects than boxier vintage cars up to 70 years old.[12]

References

  1. ^ McCarthy, Michael (21 October 2017). "A giant insect ecosystem is collapsing due to humans. It's a catastrophe". The Guardian.
  2. ^ a b McCarthy, Michael (2003-06-30). "Scientists set out to discover if insects are disappearing from Britain". The Independent. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  3. ^ a b WalesOnline (2004-09-01). "Car 'splatometer' test shows bugs flying towards extinction". walesonline. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  4. ^ a b "'Splatometer' to count bug life". BBC News. 2003-06-30. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  5. ^ "What is the 'windshield phenomenon'?". Mother Nature Network. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  6. ^ Vogel, Gretchen; 10 May 2017; Am, 9:00 (2017-05-09). "Where have all the insects gone?". Science | AAAS. Retrieved 2019-02-01. {{cite web}}: |first3= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ a b Knapton, Sarah (2017-08-26). "'The windscreen phenomenon' - why your car is no longer covered in dead insects". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  8. ^ "What happened to all the bugs? Scientists search for answers". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  9. ^ Anders Pape Møller (June 2019). "Parallel declines in abundance of insects and insectivorous birds in Denmark over 22 years". Ecology and Evolution. 9 (11): 6581–6587.
  10. ^ "Scarce insects duck UK splat test". BBC News. 2004-09-01. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  11. ^ McCarthy, Michael (2004-09-02). "40,000 'splatometers' can't be wrong: insect population is in decline". The Independent. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  12. ^ Damian Carrington (12 February 2020). "Car 'splatometer' tests reveal huge decline in number of insects". The Guardian.
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