Simply put, this is the observation that when you're driving, you'll notice that not as many dead insects will accumulate on your windshield as they used to years ago.
This doesn't sound very scientific, but the Windshield Phenomenom actually gained traction after a 2017 large-scale study in Germany. According to the study, the presence of insects in German forests and grasslands dropped 78% between 2008 and 2017. Some species couldn't be found at all after a few years — this accounted for an astonishing 34% fewer insect species in the areas researched (via Tree Hugger).
As scientist Wolfgang Wägele, Director of the Leibniz Institute for Animal Biodiversity, told Science Magazine, "If you talk to people, they have a gut feeling. They remember how insects used to smash on your windscreen." Today, your windows are likely to be a lot cleaner after a long highway drive.
So scientists set up to prove the theory by creating "splatometer tests." This was done by adding some sticky grid to the license plate of vehicles and seeing how many insects got stuck to it (per Mother Jones). A 20-year splatometer study in Denmark found an 80% decline between 1997 and 2017. A second test conducted in the UK in 2019 found a 50% reduction in impacts compared to 2004.
The conclusion? Fewer insects hitting your car means the insect population is getting smaller and smaller.
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