Global Warming and Climate Change: Impact on Arthropod Biodiversity, Pest Management, and Food Security

Global warming and climate change will trigger major changes in diversity and abundance of arthropods, geographical distribution of insect pests, population dynamics, insect biotypes, herbivore plant interactions, activity and abundance of natural enemies, species extinction, and efficacy of crop protection technologies. Changes in geographical range and insect abundance will increase the extent of crop losses, and thus, will have a major bearing on crop production and food security. Distribution of insect pests will also be influenced by changes in the cropping patterns triggered by climate change. Major insect pests such as cereal stem borers (Chilo, Sesamia, and Scirpophaga), the pod borers (Helicoverpa, Maruca, and Spodoptera), aphids, and white flies may move to temperate regions, leading to greater damage in cereals, grain legumes, vegetables, and fruit crops. Global warming will also reduce the effectiveness of host plant resistance, transgenic plants, natural enemies, biopesticides, and synthetic chemicals for pest management. Therefore, there is a need to generate information on the likely effects of climate change on insect pests to develop robust technologies that will be effective in future under global warming and climate change.