Decreased wind speeds caused by climate change may affect predatory instincts of insects. Read more here: http://blog.worldweatheronline.com/2014/11/13/climate-change-may-alter-predator-prey-balance/

1. Climate change may alter predator-prey balance
www.worldweatheronline.com

2. What’s this about?
Dwindling wind speed caused by climate change may affect
the ability of some insects, including ladybirds, to capture
their prey in their natural habitat. But for once, the
consequences of global warming may not be all bad.
www.worldweatheronline.com

3. What is happening to the wind?
Researchers found that as the
Earth’s poles are warming
faster than the equator, they
have lowered the temperature
difference allowing the
formation of winds.
Human structures, such as
skyscrapers, are also acting as
obstructions due to which the
wind speeds are decreasing.
www.worldweatheronline.com

4. And the ladybirds?
Ladybirds are considered useful
insects because they feed on
aphids, including the major
soybean plant pest, the
soybean aphid.
Lab trials showed how if the
plant is moving, it takes the
insect predators four times as
long to start eating and eats
less than half as many aphids in
an hour.
www.worldweatheronline.com

5. What does this mean?
The study has exposed how
slower natural wind speeds
could reduce the amount of
pesticide required to prevent
aphids from wrecking harvests.
There is no evidence as to what
other close predator-prey
relationships could be affected
as of yet.
www.worldweatheronline.com

6. To find out more about why not read the whole
article, click the link below:
Climate change may alter predator-prey
balance
www.worldweatheronline.com