INSECT charity Buglife’s “splatometer” is proving to be a big hit in Scotland, with more than 100 people already signed up to carry out surveys this summer.
The “splatometer” attaches to a car’s number plate and helps citizen scientists to monitor how many insects they kill on their journeys.
The results are essential for monitoring insect numbers – either their abundance through splats or their absence through a lack of impacts.
In Scotland, 220 journeys have been recorded by 115 participants since the Bugs Matter survey began on 1 June.
Andrew Whitehouse, head of operations at Buglife, said: “We are really pleased that so many people have signed-up for the Bugs Matter survey this year, helping us to measure the health of insect populations across the UK.
“The response so far has been fantastic.
“There are locations where we are keen to see more journeys recorded – in particular the north of Scotland, central Wales and across Northern Ireland – but there’s still plenty of time to get involved.”
As Scotland approaches the mid-point of most people’s school holidays, there’s still time to take part in the survey, which runs until 31 August.
Read more stories on Scottish Field’s wildlife pages.
Plus, check out our articles about Orkney and Shetland in the August issue of Scottish Field magazine.
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