Social behavior and climate change: how rising temperatures shape insect societies

Area of Science:

• Behavioral ecology
• Climate change biology
• Social insect science

Background:

• Eusocial insects (bees, wasps, ants, termites) regulate thermal environments through collective behaviors.
• Climate warming poses a threat to insect societies by impacting temperature-dependent social behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize recent advances in understanding temperature effects on social behavior in eusocial insects.
• To identify general patterns and evolutionary consequences of warming on insect societies.

Main Methods:

• Literature synthesis focusing on temperature effects on individual and group behaviors.
• Analysis of data across bees, wasps, ants, and termites.
• Inclusion of studies on foraging, social interactions, and thermoregulation.

Main Results:

• Warming temperatures disrupt foraging behavior and social interaction stability.
• Elevated temperatures can exceed the nest thermoregulation capacity of social insects.
• Subtle behavioral shifts can have cascading effects on colony fitness.

Conclusions:

• Accelerating climate warming destabilizes insect societies by disrupting essential temperature-dependent behaviors.
• Long-term studies, fitness measurements, and research on tropical and understudied species (wasps, termites) are crucial.
• Disrupted social interactions threaten colony fitness and ecosystem functioning.