Question: if the climate changes do the insects get bigger or smaller and will they die or go extint

Michel Dugon answered on 12 Nov 2014:

That’s an excellent question! and the answer is not very simple… but here it goes:

– lets take Ireland as example: at the moment, most insects over here are quite small. Insects (just like reptiles) need the warmth of the sun to be active, they are cold blooded. Because of long winters and cool, short summers, bugs in Ireland have a very short active season and sleep for most of the year (October -March). That mean that they have a short time to eat and grow. They rarely reach their full potential. If the climate gets warmer and summer last longer, you can expect bugs to grow a little larger than they are today.

– However, they won’t grow giant either, because their genetic material does not allow that. We say that they are “constrained” (limited) by their DNA.

– Some bugs will die if the temperatures change too much and too rapidly. They won’t have time to adapt. Some others will manage better… It’s difficult to say for the moment.

– Loads of bugs go extinct all the time for many reasons. Some disappear because of human activities, some because of change of climate, some because they get eaten by other animals.

– If the climate change rapidly, I’d say many animals will migrate (move to better areas) if they can. If they can’t, many will die, and some will survive by adapting quickly (e.g. hiding underground when the weather is too warm).