Climate change has brought rising temperatures as well as rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2). There has been some talk that this will have an effect on insects, and the talk varies between whether that impact is positive or negative.
The Impact Climate Change Will Have On Insect Pests
Research is still ongoing, and scientists don’t have all the answers, but here is what they do know.
Elevations in the rising levels of CO2 and temperatures are having direct effect on pests and diseases in crops. But whether the overall effect will be negative or positive is a question that has yet to be answered.
Insects May Do More Damage
Elevated CO2 changes the sugar content of plant leaves and additionally lowers their nitrogen content. Since insects need a certain amount of nitrogen in their diets, this might mean that insects will eat more plants and therefore do more damage.
No Winter Season, Good For Insects, Bad For Everyone Else
When CO2 goes up, so do temperatures, and higher temperatures mean that there might not be a winter season, therefore insects will survive the winter when they would normally perish in colder temperatures. It also means that the diseases that insects carry will better survive, too.
Uncertain Results From Temperature Changes At Night
With climate change, night time temperature increases are higher, meaning it won’t get as cool at night. Pests might do better, but so might their natural enemies, so this may be a natural biological control of a certain pest. The insect population will change, but so will its ecosystem.
Insect Relocation
Many scientists think that insects will start to head towards the north and south poles, away from the gripping heat of the equator, so certain regions of the world might see insects they’ve never before experienced. Climate change will have a powerful effect on the world’s insect species. Their abundance will change as will their distribution around the world.
Pesticides May Be Less Effective
Warmer temperatures might make some pesticides less effective. For agricultural crops, scientists measure something called the Economic Threshold Level (ETL). It indicates the density of insects and gives an indication of when control operations need to begin to prevent crop loss.
Studies Being Conducted
Scientists look at current seasonal variations for some indications of how insects might react to climate change. Within seasons today, there are lots of variations, so it truly is hard to predict.
Scientists are studying how insects are reacting to the current climate trends. They’re studying how insects function and looking at how species are distributed. They’re even using predictive models to look at future populations.
Warmer temperatures are tending to lead to higher survival rates of insects in high latitude areas. Many species use thermal cues at different points in their life cycles. Temperature tells them when to hatch, when to molt and other functions.
It is important to remember that insect life cycles are relatively short. When that is combined with their high reproductive rates as well as their high degree of mobility, and that can lead to very large insect populations in warmer temperatures.