Magneto from 1955.

Well, now we're going off in the tent Countryside in your prime, if I can put it that way You were a saloon car rally driver, Correct.

I started out circuit racing in a mini in the very early 19 seventies.

It was a characteristic of driving at the time that he would regularly have thio, uh, clean the windscreen because it was becoming so completely caked with squashed in six.

If you're of a certain age, you'll remember the great British summer getaway of old the long drive, followed by wiping all the dead insects and smeared blood from your number plate on the windscreen.

Are those days gone forever?

Boys it that modern cars are more aerodynamic, so catching fewer bucks.

Last summer, Kemp Wildlife Trust put this windscreen phenomenon to the test, has sent out a fleet of both vintage and modern cars to measure the number of dead insects on number place they found the age of cars made absolutely no difference.

They've bean applying some science to this and you took part in an actual server.

How did that work?

Absolutely Yes, the fronts of the cars are cleaned and checked on.

Then at the end of the event, they would count the number off insects washed.

How would the windscreen contrast with the old windscreen?

Days of friendly would be hardly anything on it.

Their report, published today, has been seen exclusively by this program.

They compared their findings to a similar study by the RSPB in 2004 and the results show an alarming drop off 50% fewer insects splats over just 15 years.

Our data that we've collected here in Kent mirrors the data in other studies for insect decline on the consequences of that are catastrophic.

It is very rare to hear a naturalist use the word catastrophic insects form the basis off many, many food webs.

They're really the foundation of life on Earth.

3/4 of crops are pollinated by insects.

Without insects, life on earth just couldn't exist.

Many international studies are showing a similar sharp decline of our insects intensive agriculture and our over reliance on pesticides being largely responsible when I grow these enormous monocultures of crops that treated over and over again with pesticides On average, each field is treated about 17 times a year 17 different pesticide applications, which is a figure that's twice as high as it was just 25 years ago.

If we were to come back in July and go and stand in the middle of this field, it would be silent.

Wouldn't be any butterflies or bumble bees buzzing around because there's nothing there for them.

They can't survive.

So that's really at the heart of Y.

Insects of declined so much, and I think it's a real tragedy that can't be weak.

They're trying to reverse the decline.

It's the U case first bug nature Reserve and is flourishing with over 1300 invertebrate species in the summer.

This would be full of wild flowers as well as grasses, which will be buzzing with life buzzing with bees on dhe butterflies and beetles.

The rate of loss of insects is much higher than ever.

Wildlife such as mammals and birds.

Up to eight times higher sites such as this like Canvey wit, which really by divers and really important sites for insects.

We cannot afford to lose.

We've got to protect them.

We need to look at restoring habitats.

We need to look at connecting habitats not just in our countryside but in our urban areas as well.

We need better connective ity across the landscape, linking up with insects in decline.

So, too, are many animals which rely upon them for food.

Derek has been striving to preserve one of Britain's endangered species dormers.

The amazing thing about you is that way can even explore the effect on the food chain because you monitor door mice.

We've had 50 boxes in the woodland for 10 years now that we've been monitoring, Uh, every month through February 2 Novena, the Domos will use the boxes when they come out of hibernation to breed.

If it's anything like last year in these woods, few will turn up it all.

So now let's look at the numbers.

10 years ago, roughly how many would be on it?

On average, I would say around 50 to 60 door mice in a season in our original 50 boxes.

Um, this year, lot 2019 we saw 10.

But the numbers you're talking about a so dramatic absolute having through fewer insects that could be affecting the number of demise is definitely part of their diet.

Andi.

There are far fewer insects around, which is going to affect their ability to put on weight in order to get into a condition that where they can breed in a world with glasses, melting and devastating wildfires.

It's easy to overlook this silent decline of our insects, but we ignore it at our peril.

As humans, we cannot survive without.

The scientists talk about the sixth mass extinction event that right now species going extinct faster than they have done to 65 million years since the dinosaurs were wiped out by a medial.

But this time, round it down drops.

This kind of quiet decline of our insects is a catastrophe unraveling all around us Right now on, we need to act immediately or else it will be too late.