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    Climate change’s impact upon insects to be examined in international pre-COP26 virtual event

    Posted 14 September 2021

    “Our aim is to provide an up to date snapshot of how insects are faring and what lies ahead, looking at where we are now and exploring where we are – or could be - going."

    Dr Simon Segar is among the event’s speakers

    The impact of climate change upon insects is set to be examined in an international virtual event next week.

    The event draws together academics and experts from Harper Adams University in the United Kingdom, the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

    In a 60-minute session, the researchers aim to use data from insect monitoring in the tropics to examine some of the wider questions around what climate change is doing to insect populations.

    Dr Simon Segar, Lecturer in Entomology at Harper Adams University, is among those who will be taking part in the event – which has been organised as part of a series of sessions across the globe in the lead-up to this autumn’s COP26 meeting in Glasgow.

    He said: “Our aim is to provide an up to date snapshot of how insects are faring and what lies ahead, looking at where we are now and exploring where we are – or could be - going.

    “We will have a series of short presentations and question and answer sessions throughout the event, which will feature speakers in three countries updating participants on the latest picture as they see it.

    “As you will hear, there have been both winners, such as insects with increasing ranges and/or population densities, and losers, over the past decades.

    “Responses likely vary among groups of insects, it is therefore vital to expand the scope of our investigations beyond the well studied temperate regions to the species-rich tropics.

    “We are holding the event virtually on Microsoft Teams to enable as many people as possible to participate, and the sessions have been designed so they can be accessible to anyone who is interested – so whether you are a member of the public, a student or prospective student, or even a policy maker who feels they need to know more about the impact of climate change, you will be very much welcome.”

    Dr Segar will be joined in the session by Dr Greg Lamarre of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Czech Academy of Sciences and Dr Yves Basset of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute with each leading discussions and segments during the event.

    It will take place at 4pm BST UK time on Monday, September 20 on Microsoft Teams and can be accessed by clicking here.

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