{"id":430169,"date":"2026-03-08T18:30:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T17:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=430169"},"modified":"2026-03-08T18:31:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T17:31:01","slug":"study-global-warming-could-kill-half-the-insects-in-the-amazon-jungle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=430169","title":{"rendered":"Study: Global Warming Could Kill Half the Insects in the Amazon Jungle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by<\/strong> Eric Worrall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a disaster that would be \u2013 not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MARCH 4, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate change pushes tropical insects to their heat limit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Julius Maximilian University of W\u00fcrzburg<\/a>
edited by Gaby Clark<\/a>, reviewed by Robert Egan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Up to half of the insects in the Amazon region could be exposed to life-threatening heat levels due to progressive, anthropogenic global warming. This is shown by a recent study by the universities of W\u00fcrzburg and Bremen.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cCurrent evaluations of the heat tolerance of insects such as moths, flies, and beetles paint a differentiated\u2014and at the same time alarming\u2014picture,\u201d explains study author Dr. Kim Holzmann, researcher at the Chair of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology of the Julius-Maximilians-Universit\u00e4t W\u00fcrzburg (JMU). According to the study, insects\u2019 ability to tolerate high temperatures does not simply adapt to their respective environment. \u201cWhile species at higher altitudes can increase their heat tolerance, at least in the short term, many lowland species largely lack this ability,\u201d says Holzmann.

Threatening consequences for entire ecosystems<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study, published<\/a> in Nature<\/em>, makes it clear that tropical insects have only a very limited ability to adapt to climate change. Dr. Marcell Peters, animal ecologist at the University of Bremen and study author, says, \u201cRising temperatures could have a massive impact on insect populations, especially in regions with the world\u2019s highest biodiversity. Since insects fulfill central functions in ecosystems as pollinators<\/a>, decomposers, and predators, there is a threat of far-reaching consequences for entire ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Read more: https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-03-climate-tropical-insects-limit.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The abstract of the study;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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