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but questioned whether it is "reasonable to assume that windshields can tell us something about the overall numbers of insects" and also that "humans are notoriously bad at detecting trends". The windshield phenomenon was discussed widely in 2017 after major publications and other media reported the
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A 20-year study measured the number of dead insects on car windshields on two stretches of road in
Denmark from 1997 until 2017. Adjusted for variables such as time of day, date, temperature, and wind speed, the research found an 80% decrease of the number of insects. A parallel study using sweep
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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 more insects than boxier vintage cars. Another survey was conducted in 2021 by Kent
Wildlife Trust and nature conservation
98:(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. No historical data was available for comparison in the UK. A follow-up study by
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As early as the 2000s it became a commonplace observation among drivers that after a long drive, windshields no longer had to be cleaned of numerous insects. In 2016, Canadian naturalist
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nets and sticky plates in the same area correlated positively with the reduction of insects killed by cars.
513:"Bugs Matter survey finds that flying insects in Kent have declined by over 70% in less than 20 years"
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378:"Parallel declines in abundance of insects and insectivorous birds in Denmark over 22 years"
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stated that they had noticed that they no longer had to clean their windshields frequently.
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43:) is the observation that fewer dead insects accumulate on the windshields and front
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320:"'The windscreen phenomenon' - why your car is no longer covered in dead insects"
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of people's cars since the early 2000s. It has been attributed to a global
129:"A giant insect ecosystem is collapsing due to humans. It's a catastrophe"
153:"Scientists set out to discover if insects are disappearing from Britain"
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470:"40,000 'splatometers' can't be wrong: insect population is in decline"
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topic of reductions of insect abundance during the last few decades.
495:"Car 'splatometer' tests reveal huge decline in number of insects"
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352:"What happened to all the bugs? Scientists search for answers"
181:"Car 'splatometer' test shows bugs flying towards extinction"
51:caused by human activity, e.g. use of pesticides.
63:noted that the phenomenon had recently become a
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96:Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
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493:Damian Carrington (12 February 2020).
266:"What is the 'windshield phenomenon'?"
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444:"Scarce insects duck UK splat test"
291:"Where have all the insects gone?"
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208:"'Splatometer' to count bug life"
468:McCarthy, Michael (2004-09-02).
376:Anders Pape Møller (June 2019).
151:McCarthy, Michael (2003-06-30).
289:Vogel, Gretchen (10 May 2017).
49:decrease of insect populations
1:
318:Knapton, Sarah (2017-08-26).
23:Bugs smeared on a windshield
16:Insect population indicator
563:
179:WalesOnline (2004-09-01).
356:The Sydney Morning Herald
234:"The Windshield Anecdote"
31:Impacts on a front bumper
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382:Ecology and Evolution
270:Mother Nature Network
238:American Entomologist
41:windscreen phenomenon
37:windshield phenomenon
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232:Acorn, John (2016).
517:Kent Wildlife Trust
394:2019EcoEv...9.6581M
127:(21 October 2017).
100:Kent Wildlife Trust
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403:10.1002/ece3.5236
388:(11): 6581–6587.
251:10.1093/ae/tmw086
125:McCarthy, Michael
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90:United Kingdom
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519:. 5 May 2022.
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477:. Retrieved
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452:. Retrieved
450:. 2004-09-01
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358:. 2018-09-20
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214:. 2003-06-30
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134:The Guardian
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94:In 2004 the
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547:Car windows
185:walesonline
537:Extinction
531:Categories
479:2019-02-01
454:2019-02-01
362:2019-02-01
337:2019-02-01
301:2019-02-01
275:2019-02-01
218:2019-02-01
190:2019-02-01
162:2019-02-01
111:References
61:John Acorn
55:Background
430:181510908
332:0307-1235
448:BBC News
422:31236245
212:BBC News
103:charity
542:Insects
413:6580276
390:Bibcode
295:Science
105:Buglife
81:Denmark
76:Studies
45:bumpers
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297:. AAAS
426:S2CID
418:PMID
328:ISSN
65:meme
39:(or
35:The
408:PMC
398:doi
246:doi
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