The end of summer saw the conclusion of this year’s national insect survey, Bugs Matter, on 30 September.

Bugs Matter, led by conservation charities Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife, is one of the UK’s few long-term citizen science surveys of flying insect abundance, generating critically important data.

This year saw greater participation than ever before, with a total of 8,850 journeys made, covering over 250,000 miles. Lots more people joined in the survey too – 188 new participants joined the effort to provide crucial data on flying insect numbers.

Citizen scientists in England recorded the greatest number of journeys (7,501 journeys), followed by those in Scotland (737 journeys), Wales (367journeys) and Northern Ireland (220 journeys).