Bug splat survey springs surprise

LONDON (Reuters) - The results of one of the stranger environmental surveys to be conducted in Britain are in -- and there's a surprise.


There appear to be fewer bugs in the country than might have been expected given the successive plagues of hover flies and wasps experienced during 2004's wet and windy summer.


In its Big Bug Count, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) asked motorists in June to count the number of insects splattered on their number plates and record the distance driven at the same time.


Nearly 40,000 people took part, collecting a total of 324,814 dead bugs in the process -- or an average of just one for every five miles travelled.


The RSPB, which published the results on Thursday, said it was surprised how few bugs were collected but could not draw any conclusions as this was the first survey of its kind.


"Because this is a new survey we can't show for sure that insects have declined," Big Bug head Richard Bashford said. "However, in order to see if there are any changes in insect populations in the future, the RSPB will repeat this survey."

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