How does weather and barometric pressure affect insects

Did you know that insects and even animals are affected by weather and barometric pressure?

Not only can insects respond to changes in temperatures, but they also can be affected by barometric pressure changes. If we find ourselves in the situation where we cannot get information concerning weather changes, perhaps we should look to nature for weather predictions.

A great example of this is from research done and reported on by the BBC in their 2008 feature “Nature’s Forecasters.” 

By watching insect and animal behaviors we may even be able to predict catastrophic events like the tsunami that occurred in Southeast Asia in 2004. Before that event took place, the animals and birds knew it was going to happen. It was found out that few wild animals or birds were killed by the catastrophe because they appeared to receive warning perhaps even hours before the event to go to higher ground.

This information is interesting, but the fact is that insects and animals have the innate ability to recognize environmental signs and often changes in barometric pressure.

Bees have been found to detect a drop in barometric pressure as a sign to head for the nest while a rise in the atmospheric pressure indicates it is safe to migrate. 

Weather conditions and barometric pressure also can affect reproduction of many types of insects. Research does indicate that during falling barometric pressure the females of beetles and army worms do not “intentionally call” males in for breeding, but during high or rising barometric pressure the call of the female is naturally greater and mating is enhanced.