An invasive species in the United States, the marbled brown bedbug, is spreading rapidly across the country as climate change increases temperatures. Researchers at Washington State University have found that the climate crisis can increase the appropriate habitat area for this smelly insect by up to 70%. Although harmless to humans, these animals feed on nearly 170 plants, including various food crops such as raspberries, apples, pears, peaches and plums, endangering the country's agricultural business.

Some U.S. states, such as Washington, are already taking action against the plague. There, a parasitoside insect called a "samurai wasp" - which lays its eggs inside bedbug eggs - is being used as a measure to cope with the problem. When the larvae wasps hatch, they consume the eggs of the invading insect, thus preventing the population of bedbugs from growing.

The scientific community believes that this species of bedbug came from Asia in the mid-1990s, probably in a shipping container. Since then, it has settled in 46 states, 15 of which consider the insect a pest. Bedbugs do not like the cold winters of the northern states and mainly inhabit the southern u.S. region. However, with the progress of climate change, this situation is changing.

Researchers who have spent 3 years monitoring 534 places where bedbugs thrive claim that it is already possible to find these insects in the north. The study points out that the regions that may be most affected include the Mid-Atlantic, areas around the Great Lakes, and West Coast valleys such as the Sacramento Valley in California and the Treasury Valley in Idaho.

Javier Gutierrez Illan, an entomologist at Washington State University who was one of the authors of the research, said in a statement: "Every system will change with climate change, so the fact that you can grow chickpeas, lentils or wheat without these pests now doesn't mean you won't have them in a few years. There are mitigating attitudes that we can do, but it is wise to prepare for change."

Source: Um só Planeta