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Global warming could spur more and hungrier crop-eating bugs

Ag/Outdoor

August 31st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study predicts that a warmer world likely means more and hungrier insects chomping on crops and less food on dinner plates. Insects now consume about 10 percent of the globe’s food, but the researchers say that will increase to 15 to 20 percent by the end of the century if climate change isn’t stopped. The study looked at the damage bugs could do as temperatures rise. It found that many of them will increase in number at key times for crops. The hotter weather will also speed up their metabolism so they’ll eat more. The study is in Thursday’s journal Science.