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Insects
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Effects of the Environmental Temperature on Insects
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Effects of the Environmental Temperature on Insects

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 3974

Editor

Dr. Ivan Milosavljević

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Citrus Research Board, Riverside, CA 92507, USA
Interests: biological invasions; invasive species; biological control; IPM; parasitoids; species distribution models; ecological modeling; multivariate analysis; life- table invasion models; temperature; insect development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue explores how environmental temperature shapes insect biology, ecology, and their roles in ecosystems. Temperature is one of the most important drivers of ectotherm physiology, influencing rates of development, survival, reproduction, and ultimately population dynamics and distribution. Over the past decades, models based on thermal physiology have advanced our ability to predict insect phenology and geographic range shifts. Yet, much less is known about how temperature affects insect behavior, even though behavioral plasticity can be critical for species persistence, interactions, and ecosystem stability under climate change.

We are particularly interested in contributions that integrate physiology and behavior to better understand how insects respond to both gradual shifts in mean temperatures and short-term extreme thermal events. Studies examining thermal tolerance, behavioral thermoregulation, and plasticity at individual, population, or community scales are especially welcome. We also encourage work that links empirical data with modeling approaches, from stage-structured population models to individual-based frameworks, that capture the variability of responses within and among species.

By bridging thermal biology, behavioral ecology, and population dynamics, this Special Issue aims to highlight new insights into how insects cope with temperature variation and extremes, and what this means for ecosystems under climate change. We invite original research articles, reviews, short communications, and concept papers that showcase innovative methods, empirical findings, or theoretical advances on this timely topic.

Dr. Ivan Milosavljević
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental temperature
  • insect thermal biology
  • behavioral ecology
  • climate change
  • thermal tolerance
  • insect ecology
  • population dynamics
  • thermal plasticity
  • extreme thermal events

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1949 KB  
Article
Roles of SfHSP70-7 in Thermal Tolerance, Insecticide Adaptability, and Reproductive Performance Under Combined Environmental Stress of the Rice Pest Sogatella furcifera (Hemiptera: Delphacidae)
by Zhenzhen Wang, Yi Yan, Chongfen Yi, Hongwei Zhang, Dengquan Liu and Zhanlie Yang
Insects 2026, 17(8), 765; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects17080765 - 25 Jul 2026
Viewed by 192
Abstract
Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) regulates the stress tolerance and reproductive ability of insects. In this study, the SfHSP70-7 gene was cloned and identified from the rice pest Sogatella furcifera. SfHSP70-7 encodes a typical cytoplasmic HSP70 protein that has a [...] Read more.
Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) regulates the stress tolerance and reproductive ability of insects. In this study, the SfHSP70-7 gene was cloned and identified from the rice pest Sogatella furcifera. SfHSP70-7 encodes a typical cytoplasmic HSP70 protein that has a conserved functional domain and is highly similar to the HSP70 homologous protein of Laodelphax striatellus. SfHSP70-7 was found to be widely expressed across all developmental stages, with the highest levels in nymphs and female adults. In terms of tissue distribution, it was particularly abundant in the gut and ovaries. Its expression was strongly induced by high/low temperatures and three insecticides (triflumezopyrim, sulfoxaflor, and imidacloprid), with the maximum induction under heat and triflumezopyrim stress. RNA interference (RNAi) efficiently silenced SfHSP70-7 and significantly increased the susceptibility of S. furcifera to triflumezopyrim and sulfoxaflor, but it had no effect on susceptibility to imidacloprid. RNAi knockdown of SfHSP70-7 markedly reduced survival by 45.5% (30 °C) and 38.9% (35 °C) under heat stress. In addition, gene knockdown can damage the reproductive performance of females by reducing oviposition and egg hatchability. These results indicate that SfHSP70-7 is involved in regulating the heat tolerance, insecticide adaptability, and reproductive regulation mechanism of S. furcifera, providing a potential target for pest control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of the Environmental Temperature on Insects)
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21 pages, 6841 KB  
Article
Opposite Fates Under Warming: Climatic Suitability, Niche Divergence and Phenological Exposure of Riptortus pedestris and Nezara viridula in Soybean
by Mingyang Zou, Xueyan Zhang and Ai Xia
Insects 2026, 17(8), 753; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects17080753 - 23 Jul 2026
Viewed by 239
Abstract
The bean bug, Riptortus pedestris (Fabricius), and the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.), are important pod-sucking pests of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. Their feeding on pods and developing seeds induces soybean staygreen symptoms and causes severe yield losses. To assess [...] Read more.
The bean bug, Riptortus pedestris (Fabricius), and the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.), are important pod-sucking pests of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. Their feeding on pods and developing seeds induces soybean staygreen symptoms and causes severe yield losses. To assess their future damage risk, we integrated MaxEnt, PCA env and a phenological matching index (PMI) using global occurrence records, bioclimatic variables and soybean phenology data. Under current climatic conditions, R. pedestris exhibited a predominantly temperate East Asian distribution, with suitable areas extending farther north and northeast. By contrast, N. viridula showed a more southerly and spatially continuous distribution across South and Southeast Asia, with suitability declining markedly toward northern and northeastern Asia. By the 2090s under SSP5-8.5, suitable areas decreased by 26.7% for N. viridula but increased by 34.0% for R. pedestris, and the co-suitable area declined from 9.460 to 7.350 million km2. PCA env indicated low to moderate niche overlap (Schoener’s D = 0.278) with significant niche differentiation. Under fixed soybean calendars, mean PMI generally increased for both pests, although the increase plateaued for R. pedestris under high emission scenarios by the late 21st century. Collectively, these findings indicate that Asian soybean production regions currently face overlapping damage risk, that the potential damage zone of R. pedestris is likely to expand further, and that the temporal overlap between the soybean sensitive period and adult activity windows of both pests will generally increase—despite the projected contraction in the potential damage distribution of N. viridula. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of the Environmental Temperature on Insects)
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15 pages, 3556 KB  
Article
Effect of Temperature and Genetic Inheritance on the Number of Mycangium Pits in Female Platypus quercivorus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Platypodinae)
by Gabriel Fiakpornu and Naoto Kamata
Insects 2026, 17(6), 536; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects17060536 - 22 May 2026
Viewed by 1091
Abstract
Ambrosia beetle Platypus quercivorus is a vector of Japanese oak wilt. Only females possess 4−12 mycangial pits on the pronotum, which are essential for carrying symbiotic fungi and are thought to be a significant determinant of beetle fitness. However, the factors influencing the [...] Read more.
Ambrosia beetle Platypus quercivorus is a vector of Japanese oak wilt. Only females possess 4−12 mycangial pits on the pronotum, which are essential for carrying symbiotic fungi and are thought to be a significant determinant of beetle fitness. However, the factors influencing the pit numbers remain poorly understood. To elucidate the effects of environmental conditions and parental traits on the pit number, we conducted a controlled breeding experiment. Collected P. quercivorus broods were categorized into three groups (large, middle and small) based on their average number of maternal mycangial pits. Excluding the middle groups, male−female pairs from the same group (large or small) were inoculated into Quercus crispula logs and incubated under four temperature regimes: 18, 22, 26, and 30 °C. We analyzed offspring pit number and body weight relative to temperature and parental traits. Both traits increased at lower temperatures likely because accelerated metabolism and developmental rates at higher temperatures, reduces the time and resources available for body growth and pit development. Notably, the traits exhibited distinct inheritance patterns: offspring pit number was significantly influenced by maternal pit number but not by the body weight of either parent. In contrast, offspring body weight was significantly correlated with maternal pit number, paternal body weight, and maternal body weight. Thus, we conclude that temperature plays a critical role in shaping these traits. Parental effects indicate that both mycangium pit number and body weight are heritable in P. quercivorus. However, their distinct inheritance patterns suggest a weak genetic association between the traits, implying that they may evolve largely independently. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of the Environmental Temperature on Insects)
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13 pages, 757 KB  
Article
Early-Life Heat Stress Exposes Genotype-Dependent Male Fertility Limits in Drosophila melanogaster Under Sublethal Agrochemical Exposure
by David A. Sánchez-Rodríguez, Ying Ting Yang, Felipe Martelli and Nina Wedell
Insects 2026, 17(4), 426; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects17040426 - 16 Apr 2026
Viewed by 1016
Abstract
Insect populations are increasingly exposed to concurrent climate warming and agrochemical contamination, yet how these stressors interact to influence reproductive performance remains poorly understood. Because fertility can constrain population growth before survival declines, understanding how environmental stress affects reproduction is essential for predicting [...] Read more.
Insect populations are increasingly exposed to concurrent climate warming and agrochemical contamination, yet how these stressors interact to influence reproductive performance remains poorly understood. Because fertility can constrain population growth before survival declines, understanding how environmental stress affects reproduction is essential for predicting demographic responses. Here, we investigated how elevated temperatures and sublethal imidacloprid exposure during development and early-life interact with the insecticide resistance locus Cyp6g1 to influence male reproductive performance in Drosophila melanogaster. Males were reared from embryo to adulthood under factorial combinations of temperature and insecticide exposure, and mating behaviour and fertilisation success were subsequently quantified under benign assay conditions. Early-life heat reduced fertilisation success in a genotype-dependent manner, with a pronounced collapse observed in insecticide-susceptible males. Sublethal insecticide exposure modified this thermal response, restoring fertilisation success in susceptible males and producing non-additive interactions between thermal and agrochemical stress. In contrast, although mating frequency varied across treatments, it did not show the pronounced decline observed in fertilisation success, indicating that behavioural engagement does not necessarily predict functional reproductive output. These results suggest that environmental stress experienced during early-life can reshape reproductive performance, potentially through genotype-dependent shifts in physiological investment. Considering developmental stress history and genetic variation will therefore be important for predicting insect population responses to climate warming and environmental contamination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of the Environmental Temperature on Insects)
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8 pages, 2407 KB  
Article
Estimation of Selection Intensity Against Dark Color Forms of the Spittlebug Philaenus spumarius (L.) in a Warming Climate
by Vinton Thompson
Insects 2026, 17(3), 263; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects17030263 - 1 Mar 2026
Viewed by 826
Abstract
Climate warming puts new selective pressures on natural populations, but there are few quantitative measurements of selection in natural populations over protracted time periods. Observations made at the beginning and end ofa 47-year cumulative increase of 2.7 °C in the mean September temperature [...] Read more.
Climate warming puts new selective pressures on natural populations, but there are few quantitative measurements of selection in natural populations over protracted time periods. Observations made at the beginning and end ofa 47-year cumulative increase of 2.7 °C in the mean September temperature in Northern Minnesota, USA, permit quantitative estimation of selection against a suite of alleles at a single locus determining the expressionof dark color forms in populations of the meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius (L.) (Hemiptera: Cercopoidea: Aphrophoridae). Alternative methods of estimation of the selection coefficient s, a measure of the intensity of selection, produce values of s = 0.0125 and 0.0218, respectively, corresponding to a disadvantage of about one to two percent per year or, since P. spumarius is univoltine, per round of selection. The existence of a locus under selection presents an opportunity for molecular localization and characterization of the genetic locus determining color form. Philaenus spumarius is of particular interest in Europe, as it is the major local vector of the bacterial plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of the Environmental Temperature on Insects)
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