Mapping Species Distributions of Latoia consocia Walker under Climate Change Using Current Geographical Presence Data and MAXENT (CMIP 6)

Latoia consocia Walker is an important phytophagous pest that has rapidly spread across North China in recent years, posing a severe threat to related plants. To study the impact of climatic conditions on its distribution and to predict its distribution under current and future climate conditions, the MaxEnt niche model and ArcGIS 10.8 software were used. The results showed that the MaxEnt model performs well in predicting the distribution of L. consocia, with an AUC value of 0.913. The annual precipitation (Bio12), the precipitation of the driest month (Bio14), the temperature annual range (Bio7), and the minimum temperature of the coldest month (Bio6) are key environmental factors affecting the potential distribution of L. consocia. Under current climate conditions, L. consocia has a highly suitable growth area of 2243 km2 in China, among which Taiwan has the largest high-suitable area with a total area of 1450 km2. With climate warming, the potential habitat area for L. consocia shows an overall decreasing trend in future. This work provides a scientific basis for research on pest control and ecological protection. A “graded response” detection and early warning system, as well as prevention and control strategies, can be developed for potentially suitable areas to effectively address this pest challenge.