Climate Change and Insect Crop Pests: An Overview

It seems an unfortunate fact that many insect pests are faring well under the gamut of environmental changes they face whereas many species of conservation concern are faring poorly. This may be broadly explicable in terms of traits, as pests tend to be highly fecund and highly mobile, traits which also make them adaptable to environmental change, whereas insects of conservation concern often show the opposite characteristics. The recent fortunes of some of the World’s most important crop pests will be discussed in this regard. In spite of the potential of a traits-based approach in contributing to an understanding of this “double whammy” (more of the species we don’t want, fewer of the species we do want), the realities of ecological complexity make it unlikely that it will become possible to fine-tune generalisation of insect responses to change.