Above-seasonal temperatures in January can impact insects, Lethbridge Polytechnic instructor says

It feels more like spring than January. But while many are enjoying this unusually warm weather, it's having impacts on animals and the ecosystem.

The unusually warm weather has brought out more than just people to enjoy the temperatures in Lethbridge.

Over the past few days, residents may have noticed insects such as ladybugs and flies beginning to emerge to soak in the heat.

“Organisms like insects, being more directly related to temperature rather than photoperiod, that leads to seeing them doing these things at weird times,” said Everett Hanna, Lethbridge Polytechnic environmental sciences instructor.

“Everything in nature is linked within sort of like a range of timing—we refer to it as phenology—and as those cues of timing get thrown out of sync, then all of the wheels start to fall off in all of the intricate processes that are related, too.”

Hanna says it’s not uncommon for insects and species to emerge during a warm spell, but the change in climate can cause long-term harm.

“They can be challenged by having adults come out when it’s not the right time,” said Hanna.

“It’s going to cool down this weekend or next week, and that won’t look great if you’re an adult ladybeetle that has come out.

“Obviously, they’re not well equipped to survive the winter.”

While temperatures will remain above seasonal for a few more days, once winter returns, Hanna says populations of species decrease.

He says that drop could be noticed in the spring.

“Insects are an important food source for everything from birds to other insects and also really critical for the ecological role they play for pollination,” said Hanna.

He says other wildlife and species are also impacted by the change in climate.

From species breeding to shedding winter coats early, the majority of animal cycles can be changed by the weather and climate.

“We are seeing those changes already,” said Hanna.

“Be it changes in moisture regimes, timing of warm-up, or the mismatching (of weather and climate), absolutely, we can see those declines already happening in some populations.”