Buglife and Kent Wildlife Trust are proud to announce the launch of the Bugs Matter citizen science survey in the Republic of Ireland. The survey has been running in the UK since 2021 revealing a 63% decline in the number of flying insects splatted on vehicle number plates between 2021 and 2024. Data from Northern Ireland indicated a 55% decline over the same period. The loss of flying insects at this scale is a huge concern and reflects a wider loss of nature and decline in the health of our countryside. The innovative Bugs Matter survey provides a vital tool for monitoring insect abundance by recruiting a network of volunteer citizen scientists to record insect “splats” on vehicle number plates during journeys.
“Following the success of the UK-wide Bugs Matter survey and the concerning trends we’ve observed, expanding our monitoring efforts into the Republic of Ireland is a crucial next step,” said Andrew Whitehouse from Buglife. “To gather data on the health of insect populations on an all-Ireland basis will provide essential data to support future nature restoration efforts. We hope that lots of new citizen scientists will join the Bugs Matter survey in 2025.”
Insects are critical to ecosystem functioning and services. They pollinate crops, provide natural pest control, decompose waste and recycle nutrients, and underpin food chains that support birds, mammals and other wildlife. Without insects, the planet’s ecological systems would collapse.
Extending the survey into the Republic of Ireland for the 2025 season is supported by the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Imagine Grant ‘Go Further, Faster’ Award received by Bugs Matter at the end of 2024. This grant provides vital resources to non-profit organisations looking to deploy cloud technology as a central tool to achieve their mission goals, and is providing Bugs Matter with a combination of funding, cloud computing credits, and engagement with AWS technical specialists. This marks an important step in building a more complete picture of insect populations across the British Isles, and future expansion of the Bugs Matter survey.
Dr. Lawrence Ball of Kent Wildlife Trust said, “It has been quite the journey! We started building the Bugs Matter app in 2018 and launched in the UK in 2021. We are so excited to have reached this important milestone of launching the app outside of the UK. I hope lots of new citizen scientists sign up to the Bugs Matter app and join this crucially important survey to find out how insects are faring across Ireland.”
The Bugs Matter survey will start to generate vital data on flying insect populations in the Republic of Ireland and will continue annually. It is quick, free and easy to get involved – simply download the free mobile phone app and start recording insect splats on vehicle journeys.
The 2025 survey season in the Republic of Ireland and the UK will launch on Saturday 1 May and will run until the end of September.
Download the Bugs Matter app on IOS or Android. Read the Bugs Matter 2024 Report here.
Main Image Credit: Slender-horned Horsefly (Hybomitra montana) © Steven Falk