Review Article

Climate change and insect biodiversity: recent advances in impacts, mechanisms, and management

Wajid Hasan

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jehanabad-804432, Bihar Agricultural University, Bihar, India

*Corresponding author e-mail: entowajid@gmail.com

(Received: 26/01/2026; Revised: 05/05/2026; Accepted: 01/06/2026; Published: 20/06/2026)

ABSTRACT

Climate change is reshaping insect biodiversity, distribution, and ecological roles at an accelerating pace, with profound implications for agriculture, human and animal health, and ecosystem functioning. Rising temperatures, altered precipitation regimes, and more frequent extreme events are driving shifts in species ranges, modifying phenology, and altering population dynamics across many insect taxa. In numerous regions, generalist and thermophilic species are expanding poleward and to higher elevations, while specialists and cold‑adapted taxa face range contractions and elevated extinction risk. These changes cascade through food webs, influencing pollination services, biological control, nutrient cycling, and the spread of vector‑borne diseases. In agricultural landscapes, climate warming often increases voltinism, prolongs growing seasons, and reduces overwintering mortality of key pests, thereby intensifying crop damage and complicating integrated pest management. At the same time, climate‑induced asynchrony between pests and their natural enemies, or between pollinators and host plants, can weaken long‑established ecological interactions. Recent advances in genomics, long‑term monitoring networks, species distribution modelling, remote sensing, and AI‑assisted surveillance are improving our ability to detect and predict climate‑driven changes in insect populations, yet substantial data gaps remain, particularly in tropical and under‑sampled regions.

Keywords: Climate change; insect biodiversity; range shifts; phenology; agricultural pests; pollinators; integrated pest management

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