The fitness of insects in response to climate warming
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Key Words:global change, global warming, increase temperature, herbivore, natural enemies
Abstract: Global average surface temperature has increased by around 0.74 ℃ during the past century and will continue to rise in the future. Understanding how these changes have affected biological systems has attracted a vast amount of research during the last two decades. Here we review the existing evidence on how insects have responded to these changes in climate, especially to increases in temperature. The fitness of insects can be predicted to change in response climate change in 5 ways, including changes in geographic distribution, winter survival, voltinism, dispersal / migration and phenology. However, there are still many unknowns in our understanding of the effects of climate warming on insects. Future research needs to consider the relationships between host plants, insect herbivores, and their natural enemies, and the longterm population-level responses of herbivores to global warming.