Insects have a hard time adapting to extreme temperatures, which makes them vulnerable to the effects of climate change

Insects are less able to adapt to high temperatures and are therefore more susceptible to global warming than previously thought

As increasingly frequent and intense heat waves expose animals to temperatures beyond normal limits, an international team led by researchers at the University of Bristol studied more than 100 species of insects to better understand how these changes might affect them

Insects – as important as pollinators, crop pests and disease vectors – are particularly vulnerable to extreme temperatures

The team found that insects had difficulty doing this effectively, revealing weak adaptation to both the upper and low temperature limits — for every 1°C movement of exposure temperature, the limits were adjusted only 0.

However, they found that juvenile insects had greater adaptability, highlighting that later adaptations may be improved during critical periods of life experiencing heat waves

Lead author Heist Viven of the University of Bristol's School of Biological Sciences said: "As global warming becomes more intense and frequent, many insects will have to rely on moving to new ranges or changing their behaviour to cope, rather than physiologically being able to tolerate greater temperatures

"Our comparative study found that there are some major gaps in understanding insect responses to climate change, and we urge more research

The team is currently investigating how the reproduction of insects exposed to extreme temperatures is affected, as this may be more important