Calling all drivers of gleaming motors.

Next time your four-wheeled pride and joy is looking spotless after a loving wash and polish, it could become a vital tool in a huge science experiment taking place across Kent.

Conservationists are encouraging motorists to take part in a giant survey of our insect populations - by measuring "bug splatter" on their registration plates. Kent Wildlife Trust's previous survey in 2019 found 50% fewer bugs than in 2004.

Now, from Tuesday, the Maidstone-based Trust wants drivers to download the free Bugs Matter app which will allow them to take part in this year's survey.

All you have to do is set off on any journey with a clean registration plate, and then on your return follow the instructions in the app to record the number of bugs and insects squashed on the plate.

Dr Paul Tinsley Marshall, conservation evidence manager at Kent Wildlife Trust, said: "Finding fewer squashed bugs on car number plates is concerning because it suggests their populations may be in trouble.

"The new Bugs Matter app has the advantage of being indiscriminate - sampling any and every insect hovering or flying about like aerial plankton.

"The main causes of their decline are chemical use across our countryside, road verges and gardens, and habitat loss - but we need lots more data to determine trends and people to take the survey safely during their essential travel.

"This will strengthen our call for a reduction in pesticide use and better, more joined up insect habitats as part of a Nature Recovery Network."

There is growing evidence of insect decline on a global scale, caused by habitat loss and pesticides. The consequences are potentially catastrophic for the health of our ecosystems, the future survival of other wildlife and the pollination of crops.

Campaigners say gathering evidence to show the need for urgent action is the first step in making a difference. In the UK only butterflies and moths have been monitored in enough detail to allow trends to be fully understood.

Craig Macadam, conservation director for Buglife, said: "Many people remark on not having to clean their windscreens because of bug splatter as much as twenty years ago and alarming data has come in from Germany on the decline in flying insects.

"Bugs Matter gives every citizen the opportunity to take part in important monitoring that can alert us to the current declines in the United Kingdom giving more impetus and direction to the vital work of arresting these declines."

Download the app, which is available free on both iOS and Android, and be ready to survey from June 1 to August 31

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