Leafhoppers as markers of the impact of climate change on agriculture

Climate change is reshaping agriculture and insect biodiversity worldwide. With rising temperatures, many insect species are expected to be pushed beyond their current thermal limits, and losses related to herbivory and diseases transmitted by them will be experienced in new regions. Here, we propose that climate change’s impact on agriculture can be forecast by studying migratory leafhoppers. From 2021 to 2022, we measured leafhopper numbers in eastern Canada's strawberry fields to test our hypothesis, observing that leafhopper species and phytoplasma disease-affected strawberry plants both doubled, trends influenced by temperature changes. A further post-insecticide application study reveals that insecticides used by strawberry growers could be ineffective in controlling leafhopper populations, possibly due to changes observed in their microbiome. Our research provides evidence that leafhoppers are sensitive to the effects of climate change, making them ideal markers to research the effect of climate change on agriculture.