Insects could be responsible for a future agricultural disaster

Rising temperatures increase appetite and reproduction of pests, according to a new study. This phenomenon could lead to significant crop losses.

A study has identified a new threat to the environment: insects. The overall yield of wheat, maize and rice crops is expected to decrease by 10% to 25% for each additional degree due to losses caused by insects, say researchers.

There are two explanations to this phenomenon. On the one hand, heat increases the metabolic rate of insects. “The higher the temperature, the more appetite, which is devastating for crops,” says Scott Merrill, a researcher at the University of Vermont and co-author of the study.

On the other hand, the population of these insects will increase in temperate regions, large grain producers, such as China, the United States and France. At the global level, the additional losses would be 46% for wheat, 31% for maize and 19% for rice if warming by 2 ° C.

No sustainable answers have been found at this time, as the use of pesticides or the use of insect-resistant seeds may have secondary effects on biodiversity.