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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Determining Temperature Preference of Mosquitoes and Other Ectotherms

Determining Temperature Preference of Mosquitoes and Other Ectotherms

Published on: September 28, 2022

Climate change and elevational range shifts in insects.

Christy M McCain¹, Chloe F Garfinkel²

¹Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 USA; CU Museum of Natural History, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 USA.

Current Opinion in Insect Science

|June 27, 2021

Summary

Many insects are moving upslope to track warming temperatures, but responses vary. Further research is needed to understand factors influencing these insect range shifts and climate change adaptation.

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Climate Change Biology
Entomology

Background:

Mountain ecosystems exhibit steep climatic gradients, making them sensitive to temperature changes.
Insects are shifting their elevational range limits in response to recent climate warming.
Observed range shifts show significant variation among insect populations.

Purpose of the Study:

To review existing literature on insect elevational range shifts in response to climate change.
To identify factors contributing to the observed variation in insect range shift responses.
To encourage future research on insect biodiversity and climate change adaptation.

Main Methods:

Systematic review of 1478 published studies on montane insect range shifts.
Analysis of reported elevational changes in insect populations.
Discussion of methodological, abiotic, and biotic factors influencing range shifts.

Main Results:

The majority of studied montane insect populations are shifting to higher elevations.
Conspicuous variation exists in the direction and magnitude of these elevational shifts.
Study methodology and environmental factors likely explain response variations.

Conclusions:

Insect elevational range shifts are a widespread response to climate change in mountain regions.
Understanding variation in responses requires considering species traits, biogeography, and environmental context.
More empirical studies across diverse insect groups are crucial for predicting future impacts.